Specific Gravity
by MomsDarkSecret
Summary: AU fic. High school senior Eiri Yuki is dating high school sophomore Shuichi Shindou’s older sister Maiko, but it turns out he is more interested in Shuichi than his sister when the two boys embark on a secret affair. COMPLETE.
1. Music Man

**Summary**: This is an AU fic. High school senior Eiri Yuki is dating high school sophomore Shuichi Shindou's older sister Maiko, but it turns out he is more interested in Shuichi than his sister, when the two boys embark on a secret affair that threatens to tear the Shindou household apart.

**Disclaimer**: This is an original work of fiction, but the characters of Shuichi Shindou, Eiri Yuki, Hiroshi Nakano, Tohma Seguchi and Maiko Shindou are borrowed from the Gravitation manga and TV series by the illustrious Maki Murakami.

**Warning**: This story contains strong sexual content of a homosexual nature.

-o-o-o-

Chapter 1: Music Man

"God!" Shuichi Shindou exclaimed dramatically. "Will this day never end?!" He flung his head back and draped his arm across his forehead for emphasis. "I swear time passes more slowly when we are in class."

His best friend, Hiroshi Nakano, watched him with open amusement. "You're such a drama queen, Shuichi. Look at the clock. School will be over in ten minutes."

"A veritable lifetime," Shuichi groaned. "I have this song in my head and if I don't record it soon, I may forget the melody. The greatest song ever composed may be lost because I'm stuck here. This is so wrong!"

"Well, if you hadn't been caught composing in class three days in a row, you would not have been forbidden to bring your keyboard to school."

Shuichi leaned forward and pointed at Hiro. "A true artist heeds the muse when she calls. My talents are wasted here."

"Well, that's probably true," Hiro agreed. "Your brains aren't getting much of a workout either."

"What?!"

"You are nearly at the bottom of the class."

"That's only because I was sick the day of the last placement test," Shuichi declared. "Just wait. I'll move way up in the rankings after the next test."

"Which is next week."

"Next week?! You're kidding? It can't be next week! I haven't been studying! I'm not ready!" Shuichi waved his hands in panic and his voice got so loud their teacher frowned at him.

"Shush!" Hiro admonished him. "We're supposed to be studying quietly, remember?"

"Dammit!" Shuichi dropped his head on his desk. "Now I've forgotten the melody AND I'm going to fail the test next week. This sucks!"

"Maybe you should concentrate on studying for a while."

"A man should not have to choose between his passion and graduating from high school," Shuichi grumbled. He rolled his head to the side and glared at Hiro. "I haven't noticed you giving up the guitar."

Hiro grinned sweetly. "That's because I can play the guitar and study at the same time." He leaned forward and poked Shuichi on the nose. "You, on the other hand, get so lost in your music when you're composing that you don't think about anything else at all, including eating, bathing and sleeping."

"I don't need that other stuff when I'm making music."

"I'm not sure your mom and Maiko would agree with that. Didn't they drag you outside the other day and hose you off in the garden because you smelled?"

Shuichi sat up indignantly. "I did not smell! I had bathed just two or three days before!"

"That's not what I heard. I seem to recall Maiko grumbling something about two or three weeks."

"She's lying!" Shuichi glared angrily at Hiro. "Anyway, it's not like I forget to change my underwear."

"Most of the time," Hiro murmured.

"Hey!"

The bell rang to end the period and Shuichi leaped to his feet with a shout of joy. "Finally!" The other students dissolved into giggles when their teacher rose to his feet to glare at Shuichi, who was the only student standing. Shuichi turned beet red and sank back into his seat.

"Now that I have Mr. Shindou's attention," Mr. Hanodi, their homeroom teacher, said acidly, "I'll make the final announcements." He picked up a paper from his desk. "Don't forget to copy the homework assignments for the weekend from the board. Your English papers are due on Monday. Placement testing will be conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday. Please study hard and be prepared. That's all." He put the paper down and glared at Shuichi. "Mr. Shindou will remain after class. The rest of you are dismissed."

Hiro whispered to Shuichi as he leaned over to pick up his backpack. "I'll wait for you by the front gate."

Shuichi watched the other students crowding out of the room, chattering happily about their plans for the weekend, and sank even lower in his seat. Mr. Hanodi glared at him steadily from behind his desk. When the last student was gone, Mr. Hanodi leaned forward with his hands folded in front of him.

"Shindou, I am disappointed with your classroom performance."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hanodi." Shuichi sat up straight and tried to look sincere.

"If your test scores sink any lower, Shindou, you might be in danger of retention. I'm sure that would be a terrible blow to your parents, after your sister's outstanding career at this school. She's one of the top five students in the senior class. She is assured of placing into a top university. You, on the other hand, are in danger of failing high school."

Shuichi dropped his eyes. He hated it when people brought up his sister. He loved Maiko dearly, but always being compared to her was starting to get on his nerves.

"You have nothing to say for yourself?" Mr. Hanodi continued.

"I'll try harder, Sir," Shuichi grated out. "I'll study hard this weekend for the placement test."

"Good. And don't forget to complete your English paper. The last one made me think you were studying Latin, not English."

"Yes, sir."

"You are dismissed."

Shuichi managed to not start running until he was out in the hall, where he ignored the hall monitor who immediately ordered him to stop running. He raced out to the front gate, where Hiro was waiting surrounded by a group of adoring female students, including a few junior and senior girls. Shuichi barged his way through them and grabbed Hiro's arm.

"Come on, let's go!"

"Hey!" one girl cried. "Don't be so rude!"

"Yeah! We were talking to Hiro!"

"You can talk to him on Monday!" Shuichi growled. "We have more important things to do!"

"You can't talk to us like that!"

"That's right! We're important, too, you know!"

"Yeah, sure, I'm sorry! Excuse us!" Shuichi dragged Hiro away, ignoring the insults hurled after him by the angry girls. "Geez! What are you, honey? Girls are always buzzing around you."

"I happen to like girls."

"So do I, but right now we have to get home and play. I remembered that melody, and there's a part that's just perfect for guitar so I need you to come listen."

"Can't you just compose it and play it for me later?"

"No, no, no! You have to listen right now!"

"All right, stop tugging on my arm. I'll come home with you." But Hiro was clearly in no hurry. He waved at people and stopped to exchange greetings several times, while Shuichi stood to one side, fuming.

"Do you have to talk to every single person we pass?" Shuichi complained.

"I'm just talking to a few friends," Hiro said with an urbane smile. "I know a lot of people, that's all."

"I know a lot of people, too," Shuichi grumbled, "but you don't see me stopping to talk to each and every one."

"Quit complaining. Your house is on the next block."

But when they turned the corner, a crowd of girls blocked the sidewalk.

"Oh, look!" A girl pointed at the two boys. "It's Maiko's brother. I think his name is Shuichi."

The girls crowded around them and for once Shuichi was the center of their attention and not Hiro.

"Shindou-san," the same girl addressed him. "Is it true that your sister is now dating Eiri Yuki?"

"How would I know?" Shuichi exclaimed. He stared around at the excited crowd of females in faint alarm.

"But she's your sister!" someone else exclaimed. "Has Eiri Yuki been to your house?"

"I don't know. I don't think so." Shuichi threw a panicked look at Hiro. Hiro's amused grin did nothing to alleviate his alarm.

"Girls," Hiro said, "it's just a rumor about Shindou-kun's sister and Eiri Yuki-san, but if it's true, I will be the first to tell you."

"Promise?" they squealed. They all stared at him with wide eyes, their hands clasped excitedly in front of their faces.

"I promise," he assured them gravely.

"Thank you! Thank you so much, Nakano-san!"

The girls hurried away, chattering excitedly among themselves. Shuichi stared after them in round-eyed astonishment.

"What the hell was that about?" he demanded of Hiro as soon as the girls were out of earshot.

"Don't you pay attention to anything?" Hiro laughed. "The rumor about your sister and Eiri Yuki started this morning."

"Who the hell is Eiri Yuki?"

"Man, you are so totally out of touch! Eiri Yuki is the hottest guy in school. He's editor of the school newspaper and writes most of the articles. He's even had a few short stories published in periodicals. All the girls are totally hot for him." Hiro flicked his long hair back over his shoulder and grinned. "Except for the ones who are hot for me."

Shuichi just stared.

"You've probably seen him. He's got light hair and eyes and he's really handsome. He's kind of aloof, but the girls all go for him anyway."

Shuichi continued to stare blankly.

Hiro laughed. "I give up! He's not a keyboard or sheet music, so I guess you wouldn't have any clue who he is. Come on. There's your house."

Shuichi quickly forgot all about Eiri Yuki and his sister as soon as he had his keyboard in front of him and he could finally start playing the melody that had been filling his head all day. Hiro lay on Shuichi's bed with his arms folded behind his head and his eyes closed. He slowly moved one foot in time to the music.

Shuichi finished playing and looked at Hiro. "Well? What did you think?"

"It's nice, but a little rough."

"What did you expect? That's the first time I've ever played it."

Hiro rolled onto his side and propped his head on one hand. "It has potential. You should keep working on it and write some lyrics to go with it."

"Lyrics?" Shuichi frowned thoughtfully. "Yeah, I guess I could do that. What kind of lyrics, though?"

"It sounds kind of like a love song to me."

"You think so? I was thinking more like a break-up song."

"That's still a love song."

"I guess." Shuichi slid his fingers over the keyboard, teasing out a light riff. "Well, you heard the guitar piece, right?"

"Yeah. That needs work too."

"Ok! Ok! I get it. I'll tighten it up and put in the other parts before I make you listen to it again."

"Good." Hiro rolled off the bed. "I'm going home. I want to finish my English paper tonight so I have the whole weekend to study."

"You're almost done with your paper?" Shuichi groaned. "I haven't even started mine. I don't even know what to write about."

"Write about writing music. It's the one thing you really know, so all you need to do is figure out how to say it in English."

"It's not that easy. It'll take me all weekend to write the paper and then I won't have time to study." Shuichi buried his face in his hands. "I'll fail the placement test and Mr. Hanodi said they'd keep me back next year if I don't do well."

Hiro squeezed Shuichi's shoulder. "Don't freak out, Shuichi. I'll come over tomorrow and help you with your paper and then we'll study together. Ok?"

Shuichi grinned up at him. "Thanks, Hiro! You're the best!"

"I know." Hiro tousled Shuichi's hair and started to leave, but then he stopped in the doorway. "Do your homework tonight. I want it done before I get here tomorrow."

"But the song…"

Hiro shook a finger at him. "I mean it."

Shuichi's shoulders slumped. "Fine. I'll do my homework."

"Good. See you tomorrow."

"Good night, Hiro."

At dinner that night, Mrs. Shindou was very excited. "Maiko has a date tonight, Shuichi, so you'll have to help me with dinner."

"But I have homework! Why can't Maiko help before she leaves?"

"Because she has to get ready for her date!" Mrs. Shindou exclaimed in exasperation. "The young man she's going out with comes from a very prominent family. It's important for her to make a good impression."

"So who is he?"

"His name is Eiri Yuki. You should know him; he goes to your school."

"Eiri Yuki?" Shuichi scratched his head in surprise. "So she really is dating him."

His mother held out an apron. "Here, put this on before you chop the tomatoes. You always spatter."

Shuichi put the apron on without thinking and knelt down to start chopping.

Maiko swept into the room. "Mother, how do I look? This dress isn't too short, is it? I don't want to look like a tart."

"You look lovely, dear," Mrs. Shindou said. "I've always liked how that dress looks on you. The color suits you perfectly. Don't you think so, Shuichi?"

"Huh?" Shuichi looked up. "Oh, yeah, you look great Maiko."

"Thanks, Shuichi." Maiko beamed at him. "We're going to dinner and a movie. I hope I don't make a fool of myself. Yuki-san is taking me to a French restaurant. My French is so rusty! I don't know if I'll be able to order."

Shuichi stared. "Do you have to order in French just because it's a French restaurant?"

"Well, no, but it makes you sound more sophisticated. I want to impress Eiri Yuki." Maiko clasped her hands together and smiled dreamily. "A lot of girls have gone out with him once, but he almost never asks the same girl out twice. I want to be the one he asks out more than once." She twirled around lightly on one foot. "I have to go finish putting on my makeup." She dashed back upstairs.

"All that for just a date," Shuichi muttered.

"It's important to your sister, so be nice."

"Yeah, sure."

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Shuichi hopped to his feet and trotted to the front door. He opened it to find a handsome young man with light brown, almost blond, hair and hazel eyes waiting outside. Shuichi stared in surprise. Eiri Yuki was considerably more handsome than he had expected. He was also quite tall. He looked down at Shuichi with a faintly amused expression.

"Hello. I'm Eiri Yuki. I'm here to take Maiko out to dinner." He looked Shuichi up and down. "Nice ensemble."

Shuichi looked down at his tomato-spattered apron and flushed. "I'm helping with dinner," he mumbled, his cheeks growing even redder as Yuki continued to smile at him with an amused, slightly condescending air. Shuichi opened the door wider and stepped to the side. "Please come in; you're expected."

"Thank you." Yuki walked past him into the front hall. He exuded confidence and self-control as he moved past Shuichi and Shuichi suddenly felt short, clumsy and unsure of himself.

"Um, if you'll wait a moment, I'll tell Maiko you're here."

"Thank you."

Shuichi hurried up the stairs to Maiko's room. The door was open, so he just walked in. Maiko was seated at her little dressing table, putting the finishing touches on her makeup.

"Maiko, Eiri Yuki is here."

"Already?" She leaned forward to finish applying a delicate layer of powder to her throat. "There, I think that's enough." She turned to Shuichi. "Do you really think I look all right?"

Shuichi smiled. "You look great, Sis. He's lucky to be going out with you."

"Thanks, Shuichi!" Maiko gave him a nervous smile. "I just hope he likes me. I've wanted to go out with him for a long time. I never thought he'd ask me."

"Just be yourself, like Mom always says. You're a great girl, Maiko-chan."

Maiko hugged him quickly. "And you're a great brother!" She grabbed her sweater, took a deep breath and then walked sedately down the stairs. Shuichi watched her from the top of the staircase.

"Hello Yuki-san, I'm sorry to keep you waiting."

"Not at all; I've only just arrived." He took her sweater from her hand. "It's a little cool out. You should put this on." He held the sweater for her while Maiko slipped her arms into the sleeves.

"Thank you."

Yuki opened the door for her and followed Maiko out. Shuichi came downstairs to find his mother watching from the kitchen doorway.

"What a gentleman!" she exclaimed to Shuichi. "I hope this works out for Maiko."

"What does she need a boyfriend for? I thought she was going to university."

"There's nothing wrong with a girl having a career and a family in these modern times," Mrs. Shindou said. She returned to preparing dinner. "And besides, maybe she'll decide she'd rather have a family. One never knows these days. Girls have more choices than they did when I was young." She pointed at the cutting board. "Get back to those tomatoes, please."

"Yes ma'am." Shuichi knelt back down and resumed chopping.


	2. Lucky Girl

_**Author's Note**: There will be lemons in this story, I promise, but like good foreplay, these things should not be rushed. Oh, and since someone asked, in this story, Yuki is 18 and Shuichi is 16._

-o-o-o-o-

Chapter 2: Lucky Girl

Maiko and Eiri Yuki were the talk of the school by Monday and Shuichi was sick of hearing about them by the end of the day. All day Monday, girls kept stopping him in the hallways and coming up to him during breaks demanding to know if it was true that his sister was dating Eiri Yuki. His response became a litany that he just started chanting as soon as a girl approached him, without waiting for her to ask the inevitable question.

"He took her to dinner Friday night. They saw a movie, too. No, I don't know what movie. They went out for coffee Sunday afternoon and he stayed for dinner at our house. Yes, he's very charming. You'll have to ask Maiko if you want to know anything else."

After he had repeated this mantra for the third time during lunch, Hiro started to laugh.

"Why don't you just tell them to leave you alone?"

"And be accused of being rude?" Shuichi grumbled. He picked at his bento box without really eating anything. Hiro watched him for a moment and then reached over and snagged a piece of seaweed out of his lunch. "Hey!"

"What? You're not eating it." Hiro popped the morsel into his mouth.

"Why did he have to pick my sister?" Shuichi complained. "How am I supposed to concentrate on my music with these damn girls pestering me all the time?"

"So what's he like?"

"Huh?"

"You said he had dinner at your house. What's he like?"

Shuichi groaned. "Not you to?"

Hiro helped himself to more of Shuichi's lunch. "I've heard he's charming but kind of distant. Is that true?"

"I don't know." Shuichi thumped his elbows on the table and put his chin in his hands. "I guess so. He was really nice to my parents. I think my mom's in love."

"What about Maiko?"

Shuichi rolled his eyes. "Oh, her, too."

"So are they going to keep going out?"

"I hope not."

Another girl approached their table and Shuichi groaned. "Not again!" he grumbled under his breath.

"Oh, Shindou-san…" she began, and Shuichi immediately repeated his prepared statement for what seemed like the hundredth time. She clasped her hands together in excitement. "I'm so excited for Maiko! She's so lucky! Thank you, Shindou-san, thank you!" She scurried away.

Shuichi slumped forward and hid his face in his folded arms. "I don't think I can survive this all day. If it doesn't die down before tomorrow, I know I'll fail the placement test."

"Have some self-confidence, Shuichi." Hiro patted him on the head. "We studied really hard this weekend. I'll come over tonight for a refresher and you'll do fine tomorrow. Your English paper came out great, didn't it?"

"Yeah, thanks to you."

"All right, then. As long as you have me, you'll do fine on the test, too, right?"

Shuichi grinned lopsidedly at him. "Right!"

-o-o-o-

After the testing ended on Wednesday, Shuichi was in high spirits. He skipped to the front gate humming cheerfully, where he found Hiro surrounded by girls as usual.

"Helloooo, Hiro!" he warbled. He bowed elaborately to the girls. "Hello ladies!"

"You're in a good mood for a change," Hiro said. "I take it you like how you did on the placement test?"

"I think I surpassed myself," Shuichi said with grin. "In fact, I feel so good I thought of a new song, so I'm off to do a little composing. I'll see you tomorrow!" He skipped off down the road, singing.

Shuichi burst into the house in high spirits when he arrived. "I'm home!" he shouted, but there was no response. He found a note from his mother in the kitchen.

_Shuichi, I'm at my new cooking class. I'll be home around 6pm. Remember, Maiko has her theater class, so you'll have to start dinner. Love, Mom._

"Great!" Shuichi muttered, but then he brightened. "Wait, that means I have the house to myself for three hours. Yes!" He dashed upstairs to his room and hauled his keyboard out from under the bed. He set it up on its stand in the middle of the room, turned the sound way up and began composing.

He had been working for a couple of hours when the doorbell rang. "What now?" Shuichi grumbled. He trotted downstairs and opened the door.

Eiri Yuki stood on the front step with one hand in his pocket, looking cool and sophisticated. "I was starting to think no one was here. I rang three times." He smiled down at Shuichi. "I could hear the music, though. Was that you?"

Shuichi flushed. He couldn't tell if Yuki was making fun of him or not. "I'm composing a new song. I didn't hear the bell."

"You write music?"

"Yes."

"That's very interesting." From the way he said it, though, it didn't sound like Yuki thought it was all that interesting. Shuichi had to suppress the urge to close the door in his face. "Is Maiko home?" Yuki continued.

"No, she's with her theater group."

"I thought that ended at four."

"It's supposed to, but they always run late. She usually doesn't get home until six. I'm the only one here."

"I see." Yuki looked past him into the house. "Would you mind if I waited? She invited me for dinner and I have nothing else planned between now and then."

"She did?" Shuichi exclaimed in irritation. "That's not fair. She knew she wouldn't be home till late and Mom just started a new class. I'm the one who gets to make dinner tonight."

Yuki smiled. "Oh, really? I'll help, if you like. I'm actually quite a good cook."

Shuichi immediately brightened. "No kidding? That's great, because I'm a terrible cook. I only make fried rice 'cause it's the only thing I don't screw up. Come in."

Yuki stepped inside. "It's a little early to start dinner."

"I know. You may as well come upstairs and listen to me practice. You can tell me if it sounds right."

"I'm a writer, not a musician."

"That's ok. Right now, I'm just trying to get the mix right. But I like to get a second opinion sometimes." They entered his room and Shuichi suddenly realized what a mess the place was. He quickly gathered up clothes scattered on the floor and the bed and shoved them into the closet. "You can sit on the bed. It's more comfortable than the floor." Shuichi sat back down at his keyboard. Yuki was watching him intently and Shuichi's pulse sped up. "Do you mind closing your eyes while you listen?"

"Why?" Yuki fixed his beautiful hazel eyes on Shuichi's face. "Does the color of my eyes bother you? Some people are disturbed by my light eyes."

Shuichi quickly looked away. "I think your eyes are kind of pretty. It's just sometimes it makes me nervous when people watch me."

"Aren't you a performer? Shouldn't you be used to having people watch you?"

"It's different when I'm composing." Shuichi felt his cheeks grow warm and realized he was blushing. "Do you mind?"

"Of course not." Yuki closed his eyes and leaned back on his elbows.

Shuichi immediately began to play. He purposely did not look at Yuki until he finished. "There, what do you think?"

Yuki spoke without opening his eyes. "It's nice, but I think the drum beat is a little too strong. If you were singing, I think it would overwhelm the words." He opened his eyes and looked at Shuichi. "But that's just a writer's opinion. I really don't know anything about music." He smiled.

For a moment, Shuichi just stared. Eiri Yuki's smile was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. He shook himself and dragged his eyes away. "N… No, that makes sense. I thought maybe it was too loud." He adjusted the controls on the keyboard. "How does this sound?" He played a snippet of the song with the drum beat reduced in volume.

"That sounds better." Yuki sat up. "But I'm not sure my opinion is all that valid."

"Why shouldn't it be? You listen to music, don't you?" Shuichi stared down at his keyboard. "May I ask you a personal question?"

"Certainly."

"Why are you going out with Maiko? There are a lot of girls who want to go out with you."

"I like Maiko. And she's less irritating than most girls."

"Oh."

"Is there something about your sister I should know?"

"No!" Shuichi said quickly. "Maiko's a great girl. It's just…" Shuichi hesitated.

"You think I'll dump her after a few dates and break her heart."

Shuichi nodded quickly without speaking. His cheeks were flaming.

"It's sweet of you to worry about your sister." Yuki crossed his legs and draped one arm over his knee. "Maybe you've heard I don't often go out with the same girl more than once. But I'm not a gigolo. I don't take advantage of girls."

Shuichi didn't think it was possible to blush any more. "Are you talking about…?"

"Sex," Yuki said calmly. "I don't have sex with a girl unless she really begs me for it. I might not even then. You can trust me with Maiko. I'm always a gentleman with the nice girls."

"I'm glad to here that," Shuichi said faintly. He put his hands on his cheeks. They felt hot.

"We still have some time to kill," Yuki said. "Why don't you play something else?"

"Ok." Shuichi was glad for the distraction. For some reason, thinking about Yuki and sex really embarrassed him. He started playing the first thing that came to mind and he kept his eyes fixed on the keyboard. When he finished, he looked up to find Yuki staring at him. Shuichi's pulse started racing again.

"You're very good," Yuki said.

"Thank you."

"Do you sing, too?"

"Yes."

"Would you sing something for me? I imagine you have a very nice voice. You're speaking voice is quite pleasant."

For an instant, every song he had ever written disappeared from Shuichi's mind completely. Yuki's intense hazel eyes held him spellbound. "I… uh… I…" Shuichi stammered. Then at last, a song came back to him and he closed his eyes. There was no way he could sing with Yuki's eyes swallowing him up like that. It was only after he started singing that Shuichi realized he had picked a love ballad. He felt his cheeks burning again. He was singing a love song to Eiri Yuki!

Shuichi managed to sing the song all the way to the end without flubbing it too badly, but when he opened his eyes, he discovered Yuki grinning broadly at him.

"Have you ever had a girlfriend?" Yuki chuckled. "Those lyrics are a little corny."

"What does having a girlfriend have to do with it? It's poetry!"

"Well, I've written a few romantic stories and I find it comes off a little better when you've had some experience."

Shuichi folded his arms and frowned. "Well I'm still just a sophomore, you know! We can't all be Greek gods, like you."

Yuki chuckled again. "You think I'm that handsome? Thank you."

"Th… That's not what I meant!" Shuichi stammered. _Why am I always blushing around him!_ "I just meant…"

"I understand," Yuki interrupted him. "Maybe we should go start dinner?"

"I guess so." Shuichi turned off his keyboard and led the way downstairs. "I don't know what we have," he began when they entered the kitchen. "Mom usually has some fresh fish and there might be noodles…" He started poking around in the refrigerator.

Yuki put a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you start the rice? I'll do the rest."

"I don't know," Shuichi said, flustered. "It doesn't seem right to make the guest cook dinner."

"Don't let it bother you. I like to cook." Yuki favored him with another dazzling smile and he started fetching items out of the refrigerator.

Shuichi turned to the rice cooker feeling a little breathless. Yuki's smile sent shivers down his spine. He wondered if this was how Maiko felt when she was around Yuki. The thought stopped him in his tracks. He was a guy! He shouldn't be thinking about another guy the way his sister would! Shuichi closed his eyes. This was all wrong.

"How's that rice coming?"

Shuichi started. "I… I'm starting it right now." He quickly put water and rice into the cooker and started it. He leaned over it to wait for the water to start bubbling. _This is ridiculous!_ he thought.

"Watched pots never boil." Yuki spoke from right behind his shoulder and Shuichi whirled around in surprise. Yuki's light brown hair spilled across his forehead, accentuating the color of his eyes. He held Shuichi's gaze for several heartbeats. "I found everything I need. Do you want to help me?"

"Uh, sure!" Shuichi saw cucumbers sitting on the counter. "I can peel and slice those." He retrieved the peeler from the drawer and began skinning one of the cucumbers. His heart nearly stopped when Yuki caught his hand and stopped him. Yuki moved up right behind him until Shuichi could feel the heat radiating from Yuki's body.

"No wonder your mother makes you wear an apron," Yuki said with a warm chuckle. "Your technique sucks. Let me show you." He reached around Shuichi on either side, putting one hand on Shuichi's where he was holding the cucumber and wrapping the fingers of his other hand around Shuichi's hand that was holding the peeler. "Hold it like this and then slide the peeler down the side in a long, smooth stroke. See? You get more skin and less flesh when you do it this way. You're wasting half the cucumber the way you do it." He continued to move Shuichi's hands until the cucumber was completely bare. "Now," Yuki continued, "when you slice it, you want thin, even sections like this." He demonstrated, once more moving Shuichi's hands for him. "Do you see?"

"Yes," Shuichi breathed, but he was barely aware of what was happening to the hapless cucumber. All he could feel was Yuki's hands on his and the scintillating warmth of Yuki's chest against his back. And then there was the occasional exciting tickle of Yuki's hair brushing against his cheek. Only when he spoke, did Shuichi realize he was holding his breath. He drew in a deep breath and his nostrils filled with the intoxicating scent of Yuki's skin. He began to tremble. "I think I can do it now," Shuichi whispered, although his hands were shaking so much he doubted he would be able to hold the peeler when Yuki released him.

"Good." Yuki turned back to whatever he had been doing and Shuichi closed his eyes.

_Oh God!_ Shuichi thought. _I'm going insane. I'm not supposed to react like this to another guy! What's wrong with me?_

It took every ounce of attention and focus he had to keep his mind on the cucumbers in front of him. Despite Yuki's instruction, he ended up mutilating the cucumbers in his usual clumsy way, but Yuki didn't say anything. He just smiled as he added them to whatever he was preparing.

"I'll set the table," Shuichi announced. He needed anything that would get him out of the kitchen, if only for a moment. Being alone with Yuki was driving him crazy.

The front door slammed. "I'm home!" Maiko called.

Shuichi nearly collapsed with relief. "We're in the kitchen!"

Maiko came in, but stopped in surprise when she saw Yuki. "Oh, Yuki-san! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to keep you waiting."

Yuki gave her one of his stunning smiles. "No problem. Shuichi's been keeping me company."

"And making you cook, too, I see." Maiko frowned at Shuichi. "Shame on you, making a guest cook."

"He volunteered!" Shuichi quickly defended himself.

"I did," Yuki concurred. "It will be ready soon. When do you expect your parents?"

"Mom should be here any minute. Dad usually doesn't get home until 6:30." Maiko bowed slightly. "If you'll excuse me for a minute, I'm going to go change." She hurried out of the kitchen.

Shuichi had finished setting the table and was helping to put the food on when Mrs. Shindou arrived.

"Yuki-san! How good to see you!" Mrs. Shindou said. She leaned over the table and sniffed. "That smells wonderful, Shuichi, I'm impressed."

"I didn't make it," Shuichi admitted. "Yuki-san made dinner."

"You did? Thank you so much, Yuki-san." Mrs. Shindou bowed. "You're such a fine young man. Here is someone you can look up to, Shuichi."

Shuichi didn't say anything. He avoided looking at Yuki as well. He was afraid he would just start blushing again. All through dinner, he tried to keep his eyes fixed on his plate, because he realized whenever his eyes fell on Eiri Yuki, he started staring. But even when he wasn't looking, he could picture the way Yuki's hair fell against his forehead and feel the hypnotic pull of his eyes. Shuichi alternated between being unable to eat at all and wolfing his food down so fast his mother chastised him.

Shuichi escaped to his room as soon after dinner as courtesy allowed, but he was unable to concentrate on his composing. Thoughts of Eiri Yuki kept intruding. He finally sat on his bed with his head in his hands, reminding himself over and over again that there was nothing wrong with him.

Sometime later, Maiko knocked on his door and let herself in without waiting for his response.

"Isn't Eiri Yuki wonderful?" Maiko exclaimed dreamily.

"Charming," Shuichi answered faintly.

"He said you played for him." Maiko didn't seem to notice how distracted Shuichi was.

"He showed up while I was practicing. I couldn't just make him sit downstairs till you got home."

"That was nice of you, Shuichi."

"That's me: Mr. Nice Guy." Shuichi combed his fingers through his hair, making a complete mess of it. "Next time, tell me ahead of time when you invite him over."

"Ok. I invited him over the day after tomorrow to study."

Shuichi stared at her. "That's Friday night. You're going to study on a Friday night?"

"Yes!" Maiko grinned delightedly. "He already asked me out for Saturday!" She twirled in a circle. "Isn't it wonderful, Shuichi? That will be our third date, plus he's had dinner here twice. That's more times than any other girl has seen him. I think he really likes me!"

"It would seem that way."

"Well, good night." Maiko danced out of the room.

Shuichi hung his head again. "I'll have to see him every time he comes over. Dammit! Why does that excite me?"


	3. Losing Control

**Warning**: This chapter contains strong sexual content.

_**Note**: After I finished this chapter, I suspected I had exceeded the rating level allowed by this site. I modified the wording of the love scene slightly, but I didn't change the romance or eroticism of the encounter. The original version is posted at mediaminer dot org, same pen name. The difference isn't that big, unlike Yuki._

-o-o-o-o-

Chapter 3: Losing Control

"Shuichi! Wait up!" Maiko called. She caught up with Shuichi as he trudged along to school Friday morning with his backpack slung over one shoulder.

Shuichi barely looked at her as she fell into step with him. "I thought you were at school already," he said. "Don't you have leadership club on Friday mornings?"

"It was cancelled this morning." Maiko studied his face worriedly. "Are you all right, Shuichi? You sound like you're coming down with something."

"I'm just tired." Shuichi didn't look at her. He was not about to tell her he was exhausted from dreaming about Yuki all night. "I didn't sleep well."

"Oh. Well, I was wondering if you could do me a favor this afternoon. Since our club was cancelled this morning, some of us want to meet this afternoon instead. Since I'm club president, I have to be there. So could you please entertain Eiri Yuki for me until I get home from the meeting? I should be home by five."

"I thought he was coming over after dinner!"

"I invited him to come for dinner before I knew leadership club was cancelled this morning." Maiko clasped his arm. "Please, Shuichi!"

"Can't you just tell him to come later?"

"I will, but if the meeting runs over, I don't want him to sit around bored. You don't mind, do you? Maybe he'll help you with your homework." She fixed big, pleading, hopeful eyes on his face.

Shuichi sighed. "Sure, Maiko, I'd be glad to."

"Thanks, Shuichi! You're a dear!" She kissed him quickly on the cheek. "I'd better hurry. I want to catch Eiri before class. See you later!" She dashed away with a happy wave.

Shuichi hung his head. Just what he needed: another afternoon alone with Eiri Yuki! The thought left him distracted and the day progressed very badly. He was yelled at by three teachers and spilled his milk during lunch, soaking his food. He dragged home after his last class, too depressed even to look for Hiro. To top it off, his homework took so long to complete, he had only just pulled out his keyboard when the doorbell rang.

Eiri Yuki looked as gorgeous as ever. Shuichi's pulse sped up at the sight of him.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you," Yuki said. "Maiko told me she might be a little late, but I thought I would wait for her, if that's all right."

"Uh, sure, it's fine." Shuichi let Yuki in. "I was just about to start practicing, if you don't mind."

"May I listen?" Yuki fixed his beautiful eyes on Shuichi's face and smiled one of his dazzling smiles.

Shuichi had to remind himself to breathe. "Um… I have to do my scales first. It's kind of boring, but I do it every day before I start."

"Please don't change your routine on my account," Yuki replied. "I'm the one imposing."

"It's no imposition," Shuichi rasped out. His heart was pounding and he was starting to get hard. He was glad he was walking ahead of Yuki as they went up to his room. He slipped quickly behind his keyboard and leaned over it, staring at his own hands, but he could still feel Yuki's hazel eyes burning into his skin. With an effort he began to play. He flubbed the first two scales. He closed his eyes on the third and made it through, but then he flubbed the fourth.

"I think I must be disturbing you," Yuki said. There was a hint of laughter in his voice and Shuichi shuddered.

"You're not disturbing me," he lied. "I'm not used to playing scales in front of people."

"Just like you're not used to composing in front of people?"

Shuichi looked up. "Don't make fun of me!" he exclaimed. "Maybe it bothers me a little to have you watch me, but you still shouldn't tease me!"

"I don't mean to tease you," Yuki said. He smiled sweetly at Shuichi. "I think you're quite talented, so I can only imagine that I am disturbing you when you play badly."

Shuichi shivered. "You think I'm talented?"

"Oh yes."

"Thank you." For a long moment, Shuichi could not look away from Yuki's gaze.

Yuki leaned forward. "You look a lot like your sister. You have the same eyes and mouth. Just your noses are a little different."

"Do you think she's pretty?"

"Yes." Yuki grinned. "Do you want to know if I think you're pretty, too?"

"What!" Shuichi blushed. "I didn't mean…! Oh!" He looked away, flustered.

"You are kind of cute, you know."

"Please don't say things like that," Shuichi exclaimed. "It's embarrassing!"

"I wasn't embarrassed when you said I had pretty eyes the other day."

"That's different. Your eyes are pretty." Shuichi's cheeks turned scarlet. _Whatever possessed me to say something like that?_

"So you don't think you're cute?" Yuki answered with a soft chuckle. "You should look in the mirror sometime."

Shuichi put his hands over his flaming cheeks. Yuki's teasing was making him even more excited. He closed his eyes. "Guys shouldn't talk to each other like this! When I said your eyes were pretty, I didn't mean for it to sound like I… like I…" He couldn't finish the sentence.

Yuki's warm chuckle sent shivers of excitement down Shuichi's spine. "I wouldn't be insulted. It doesn't bother me if guys think I'm good-looking."

Shuichi stood up abruptly and stumbled for the door. "Maybe we should wait for Maiko downstairs," he said quickly.

"You're not going to practice? I thought you did that every day." Yuki followed him to the door, but he caught Shuichi by the arm before he could escape out into the hallway. He pulled Shuichi back and closed the door. "You should finish your practice. I promise I won't tease you anymore."

Shuichi hesitated before turning around. Yuki was standing right behind him. He didn't want Yuki to see how excited he was, but he had no idea how he was going to hide it with Yuki so close to him. He turned slowly, looked up into Yuki's eyes and froze. His heart was pounding so hard he was sure Yuki could hear it. He licked his lips.

"I think… I'm too tired to practice," Shuichi whispered. "I didn't sleep well last night. I feel…" He felt lightheaded, staring into Yuki's intent gaze. "I think… maybe… it's too hard… with you here," he finished faintly.

Yuki put his hands on Shuichi's shoulders and pushed him back against the door. "I think you're right about it being hard," he whispered and kissed him.

It was not a quick kiss. Yuki moved his mouth against Shuichi's, parting his lips and stroking his tongue gently against Shuichi's lips until he opened his mouth, too. Yuki slipped his tongue in, moving it caressingly against Shuichi's tongue. Feeling helpless, Shuichi wrapped his arms around Yuki and kissed back. He pressed his body against Yuki's, completely forgetting that he was trying to hide how aroused he was.

When Yuki finally drew his mouth away, Shuichi was trembling. "Why did you kiss me?" he gasped breathlessly.

"Because you were flirting with me," Yuki answered.

"I wasn't flirting!" Shuichi exclaimed in panic. "Maiko asked me to keep you company! I was just doing her a favor!"

"Oh? Then why did you let me kiss you?"

"I didn't know you were going to!" Shuichi tried to push Yuki away. "Do you always go around kissing guys?" he demanded in a shaking voice.

"Only the ones who flirt with me."

"I was not flirting!" Shuichi cried. Tears welled up in his eyes. "I'm not like that!"

"Shuichi," Yuki said, "don't cry. I thought you wanted me to kiss you. It certainly felt like you did when you were kissing me back."

Shuichi closed his eyes and large tears slid down his cheeks. He stopped trying to get away. "I did," he whispered. He looked up at Yuki. "Please don't tell anyone! People already think I'm weird."

Yuki smiled. "Why would I do that? Then people would think I'm weird, too."

Shuichi sniffed and wiped his nose on the back of his hand. "No one would ever think that; you're too popular."

"Perhaps." Yuki produced a handkerchief and began wiping the tears from Shuichi's cheeks.

"Do you kiss Maiko like that?" Shuichi felt like a fool for asking the question.

"No. I've never kissed Maiko like that." Yuki met his eyes. "Maiko isn't ready to be intimate."

Shuichi's eyes opened wide when he realized what Yuki was implying. "I'm not ready either!" he exclaimed.

"You're not?" Yuki put his hand on the bulge in Shuichi's pants. "I get the impression some parts of you are."

"Don't touch me like that!" Shuichi gasped. He pushed Yuki's hand away. "I'm not that kind of guy! Other guys don't interest me!"

"Just me?"

"No!"

"Really?"

Yuki put his arms around Shuichi's waist, pulled him close and kissed him again. Shuichi struggled for a moment, but he couldn't resist Yuki's kiss. He put his arms around Yuki's neck and kissed back. Yuki's leg was pressed against Shuichi's erection and he shuddered with arousal. Every trace of rational thought fled from his mind. Yuki's embrace was everything.

The sound of the front door closing, followed by Maiko's voice, made Shuichi pull away suddenly. "Maiko's home!" he gasped. He stared at Yuki in wide-eyed panic. "Please don't tell her what happened! Please!"

"Hush," Yuki said calmly. "This is just between us." Yuki released him and Shuichi sagged back against the door. "There's no reason anyone has to know about it."

Maiko knocked on the door. "Shuichi?" she called, "are you home?"

With an effort, Shuichi tried to get himself under control. He opened the door but stayed mostly behind it, knowing that Maiko would only have eyes for Eiri Yuki.

"Yuki-san!" Maiko exclaimed. "You're here already. Have you been waiting long?"

"No, I just got here. Why don't we go downstairs? I'm keeping Shuichi from his practice."

Shuichi started, but Maiko didn't seem to make anything of the comment. She chattered about her leadership meeting as she and Yuki went downstairs. Shuichi closed the door behind them and sighed with relief. This thing with Yuki was getting out of hand. "Why am I so attracted to him?" Shuichi whispered to himself. "I have to stop feeling this way before something worse happens."

Shuichi skipped dinner that night, claiming illness, because he didn't trust himself to face Eiri Yuki again so soon.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"You look like shit," Hiro remarked casually. "Rough weekend?"

Shuichi sank into the seat beside Hiro and dropped his backpack on the floor. "I was working on my music all weekend." It was nearly the literal truth. He had barely slept at all. Every time he tried, dreams of Eiri Yuki tormented him to the point where he woke up with either a painful erection or cum-soaked sheets.

"New song?"

"Yeah. And new mixes for some of the old ones."

"Do you want me to come over and listen?"

"Maybe tomorrow. I gotta get some sleep."

"Ok."

"Nudge me if you see my dozing off, will you?"

"Sure thing."

Home seemed a lot farther away from school than usual that afternoon. All Shuichi wanted to do was get home and crawl into bed. Monday's were good days for afternoon naps because his mother had an art class and Maiko had dance. The house would be empty until at least 5:30. Normally, he would use the time to play, when no one was around to insist he do his homework, but today, he planned on doing nothing but sleeping.

He stumbled as he stepped up onto the porch and dropped his key. "Dammit!" He bent over to pick it up, but another hand swept in ahead of his and picked it up.

"Is something wrong, Shuichi?"

Shuichi jumped back in a panic and fell on his butt. Eiri Yuki stood there, Shuichi's key in one hand, regarding him with mild surprise.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I called you, but you must not have heard me." Yuki held out his hand.

His pulse racing, Shuichi grasped Yuki's hand and let Yuki pull him to his feet. "You called me?" Yuki's hand felt warm and wonderful holding his. Shuichi felt a surge of desire and his exhaustion was suddenly swept away. He couldn't look away from Yuki's hazel eyes.

"May I come in for a moment?" Without releasing Shuichi's hand, Yuki unlocked the door and led Shuichi into the house.

Shuichi looked back over his shoulder, terrified that someone would see them entering the house together. The street was empty. Yuki closed the door and handed Shuichi his key.

"You look exhausted," Yuki said. "Were you practicing all weekend?"

"Uh, yeah." Shuichi kicked off his shoes and moved past Yuki toward the stairs. "I was going to take a nap."

"Do you want me to leave?"

The simple question plunged Shuichi into a maelstrom of emotions. A small, rational part of his mind insisted that he tell Yuki to leave. The part of him that loved his sister dearly and did not want her to be hurt insisted that he tell Yuki to leave. The part of him that did not want to admit how desperately he wanted Yuki insisted that he tell Yuki to leave. But the raging desire that was consuming his body demanded that he tell Yuki to stay.

"No," Shuichi whispered. He looked back over his shoulder, knowing full well that his face would give him away.

Yuki took Shuichi's backpack off his shoulder and set it gently on the floor. Then he turned Shuichi around and kissed him deeply. "I want to go to bed with you."

Shuichi closed his eyes. "We can't! My sister…"

"I don't want her; I want you." Yuki kissed him again and Shuichi was lost. He couldn't stop himself from embracing Yuki and returning his kiss with deep passion. "Maiko told me she wouldn't be home until after five," Yuki whispered in his ear. "And she said your mother would be out all afternoon."

Shuichi nodded without speaking. Yuki took his hand and led him upstairs to his room. Shuichi felt a rising panic when Yuki closed the door and locked it. He backed up until his knees were bumping against his bed. "Yuki!" he exclaimed desperately. "I don't think we should do this! I've never… been with anyone. I don't know how…"

Yuki crossed the room and put a finger against Shuichi's lips. "I have and I do know how." He took off Shuichi's jacket and tossed it aside. Shuichi's breathing quickened as Yuki removed his shirt and he gasped when Yuki brushed his fingers across the bare skin of his chest. Yuki took off his own jacket and tossed it on the foot of the bed. When he took his shirt off, Shuichi abruptly sat down. Yuki sat down next to him, leaned over and licked Shuichi on the neck. Shuichi shuddered and closed his eyes. Yuki pushed him over gently and continued to lick him, his tongue teasing along Shuichi's jaw, to his chin and down into the hollow of his throat.

Shuichi moaned helplessly. "Oh, god! What am I doing?" Yuki licked his left nipple and Shuichi groaned aloud.

"You're very sensitive," Yuki murmured. He continued to caress Shuichi's nipple with the tip of his tongue.

"Stop! Please!" Shuichi gasped. "It feels too good!"

"You think so?" Yuki slid his hand down and grasped Shuichi's erection.

"Oh!" Shuichi cried.

"I think I can make you feel a lot better." Yuki undid Shuichi's pants, pulled them down, and went down on him.

Shuichi cried aloud again and his back arched up. He clutched Yuki's shoulders, his groans getting louder and louder, until his pleasure peaked and orgasm flooded him. "Yuki!" Shuichi gasped.

"I knew you'd like that. But there's more." He took Shuichi's pants off and lifted Shuichi's heels up onto his shoulders. He undid his own pants and moved close to Shuichi's bottom.

"I don't think I want to do this!" Shuichi exclaimed. "It's going to hurt!"

"I thought of that," Yuki reassured him. He reached behind himself for his jacket and pulled a tube of lubricant out of the pocket. "Relax. I'll go slow," he said as he applied the cream with his fingers.

"Oh, lord!" Shuichi gasped. He clutched Yuki's shoulders again.

"Does it hurt?"

"N… No," Shuichi groaned. "It feels… I… I think…"

Yuki smiled. "You like it." He moved his hand. "Then it's time for something bigger." He smeared the cream from his fingers onto himself, leaned forward and thrust himself into Shuichi.

"AH!" Shuichi gasped. He squeezed his eyes shut and pushed his hips up. "It feels so good! Don't stop!" Yuki's hips ground against him as he moved rhythmically against Shuichi's bottom. Shuichi moved his hips up and down, moving against Yuki and moaning with joy. The pleasure of Yuki moving inside him drove him steadily, relentlessly into ecstasy. He arched up with a joyful cry and tears leaked from his eyes as climax sent shuddering waves of pleasure through him. Yuki groaned deeply and went still.

"That was wonderful!" Shuichi whispered when he could finally catch his breath. He opened his eyes and gazed at Yuki. "I don't understand it, but I love you, Yuki."

"All the philosophers will tell you that love doesn't make sense," Yuki replied with a smile. He rubbed his hands up and down Shuichi's thighs.

"We have to tell Maiko," Shuichi said softly. "We can't… we can't just pretend there's nothing going on between us."

"Why? She's happy being my girlfriend and as long as I'm going out with her, it gives me an excuse to keep seeing you." He stared directly into Shuichi's eyes. "I want to keep seeing you."

"But, Yuki…"

"She'll be happier if she doesn't know." Yuki lifted Shuichi's legs off his shoulders and lay down between them, slipping his arms under Shuichi's shoulders. He kissed Shuichi on the lips. "Trust me. This is the only way." He began to move inside Shuichi again and Shuichi closed his eyes with a groan.


	4. Deception

**Warning**: This chapter contains strong sexual content.

_**Note**: Once again, I think I exceeded the rating level allowed by this site, so like before, I made a few small wording changes to hopefully skate in under the ratings wire, but the gist is the same. The original version is posted at mediaminer dot org, like last time. The difference is pretty slight, though._

**Note 2**: In this chapter, I finally get around to presenting Maiko and Yuki's POVs.

-o-o-o-o-

Chapter 4: Deception

Maiko had a dreamy smile on her face when she drifted into homeroom. She was Eiri Yuki's girlfriend! They had been dating for over a month and all the other girls were tremendously jealous. She sank into her seat with a contented sigh. A group of girls talking nearby immediately surrounded her desk.

"You were out with Yuki last night, weren't you?" one girl, Hitomi, asked eagerly.

"Yes, I was!" Maiko smiled excitedly. "He took me out to dinner. It was such a nice restaurant; I had to dress up."

"You are so lucky!" sighed another girl, Keiko. "I've never gone out with Yuki."

"Me neither," added Aiko, a third girl.

The fourth girl in the group, Naniko, leaned on Maiko's desk and asked in a low voice, "I heard Yuki won't go out with a girl a second time unless she sleeps with him on the first date." She fixed her eyes on Maiko. "Is that true?"

Maiko blushed furiously. "Are you suggesting that I…?" She swallowed and looked around at the others. They were all staring at her expectantly. "Well, it's not true for me!" she exclaimed. "I don't do that and Yuki respects me. He's never tried to… to… force himself on me or anything! He hasn't even asked."

Naniko straightened up and folded her arms under her breasts. "He hasn't asked?" She smirked. "Well, he must be expecting something eventually. He can have any girl he wants. Why would he stay with someone who doesn't put out?"

Maiko's blush grew even deeper. "Not all boys are like that!"

"Maybe just with Naniko!" Aiko whispered to Hitomi with a giggle.

Naniko rounded on her. "I heard that!" she hissed at Aiko. "Just because I… because I…" her face grew red and she glared angrily at Aiko. "Maybe I'm not as pure as you, but I'm no slut!"

"But I bet she'd put out for Yuki!" Hitomi whispered to Maiko. "You better watch out."

Naniko turned her glare on Hitomi. "Just because my boyfriend dumped me for another girl doesn't mean I'd try to do the same thing to Maiko! It's not me she has to watch out for! I'm just saying: Yuki has a reputation, that's all."

"That's true," Aiko agreed. "Naniko might be right. He might dump you if some other girl offered to spread her legs for him."

Hitomi nodded. "You don't have to go all the way, you know. He would probably be happy with a little making out and a blow job."

Maiko put her hands over her flaming cheeks. "Don't say things like that!" she gasped. She looked around quickly to see if anyone else overheard. "I could never do something like that!"

"It's not the same thing as having sex," Naniko said, "and the guys really like it."

"It's not that bad," Hitomi added. "If you get the guy really excited first, he'll be quick and you won't have to do it for very long."

"Speaking with the voice of experience?" Naniko arched an eyebrow at Hitomi and Hitomi blushed.

"If the guy's really nice and I like him, why not?" She giggled. "And he won't ask you to go Dutch at the movies afterward!"

Aiko was scandalized. "You never told me you did that!"

"I've only done it a couple of times," Hitomi said in a low voice, "but the guys were really cute!" She grinned. "Anyway, Maiko, you should give it some serious thought. Yuki's an experienced guy. Maybe he really likes you, but the innocent act is only enticing for so long. Eventually, a guy's going to want something more."

"Yeah," Naniko agreed. "And if he doesn't get it from you, he may move on."

Their teacher came in and clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "Please be seated, class."

Maiko looked down in confusion as her friends moved away to take their seats. She wondered if they were right. Was Yuki just taking a break from his normal routine by dating a "good" girl like her? Maybe he did want more from their relationship, but he was too much the gentleman to ask. _Oh, dear!_ Maiko thought to herself. _I'll have to ask him, but I'll be so embarrassed! And what if he says yes? What then?_ Maiko opened her notebook to get out yesterday's homework assignment. Her happy feelings from only moments ago had evaporated. What did Yuki want? Suddenly, Maiko was not so sure that she knew.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Shuichi felt tremendously guilty about dating Yuki behind Maiko's back. And it _was_ dating. They often went places together and met regularly for sex. But Shuichi was so deeply in love, no amount of guilt was enough to make him stop. No one in his family suspected a thing. They all seemed to think that Yuki was just being nice to the little brother of his girlfriend. The first time Yuki had suggested they go see a movie together, Shuichi had been shocked and worried that Maiko would become suspicious. But Maiko was busy that night and she didn't really want to see the movie anyway, so she sent them off with her blessing. Shuichi's guilt that night had lasted up until the moment Yuki parked the car in a secluded spot and made love with him in the back seat.

But it was still hard facing Maiko every day, knowing how hurt she would be if she found out what he was doing. Fortunately, his habit of holing up in his room to play music all the time meant that he usually only saw her at meals, where everyone was used to him bolting his food down and dashing back to his room to get back to his music.

So he was in his room as usual, working on his latest composition with his headphones on, when Maiko unexpectedly entered his room and startled him so badly he nearly knocked his keyboard over. He yanked the headphones off with a yelp.

"Geez, Maiko! Knock before you walk in like that! You scared the shit out of me!"

"I did knock!" She shook a finger at him. "You shouldn't listen to the music so loud, especially with the headphones on. You'll damage your hearing."

"You sound like Mom."

"Well, she's right. Anyway, I wanted to ask you something." She closed the door and sat down on his bed. "It's kind of personal," she began and her cheeks reddened slightly. "I was talking to some of my friends today…" Maiko hesitated. "You know Eiri has a reputation for being, well, experienced, right?"

Shuichi nodded and dropped his eyes, praying he wasn't blushing.

Maiko shifted uncomfortably. "Well, my friends said that… Oh dear! This is so hard to say." Her blush deepened. "My friends think I should sleep with Eiri. They think he'll break up with me eventually if I don't. You spend a lot of time with him. Do you think he would do that? Does he talk about me that way?"

Shuichi swallowed. What could he say? He wasn't about to tell her that Yuki wasn't interested in her that way at all. "Honestly, Maiko, we don't usually talk about you, but I don't think that's why Yuki is dating you."

"Really?"

"Yuki likes you, Maiko. I don't think he'd break up with you just because you're not having sex." That seemed safe to say and it was close to the real truth.

Maiko brightened. "Do you really think so?"

Shuichi nodded.

"Oh, that's such a relief!" Maiko smiled and blew her breath out in a long sigh. "It's not that I'm not attracted to him, you know," she said. "I think Eiri is really sexy, I just don't think I'm ready for that."

"You shouldn't rush into sex, Maiko," Shuichi said seriously. "It's too easy to get in over your head." _Says the guy who's way in over his head!_ Shuichi thought to himself.

"Still, I wonder if I should at least talk to him about it," Maiko said thoughtfully. "To make sure there are no misunderstandings."

"I don't think that's necessary!" Shuichi said quickly. "You know how blunt Yuki can be. If he wanted to talk about it, I'm sure he would have brought it up by now."

"I suppose…" Maiko bit her lip. Then she stood up and favored Shuichi with another bright smile. "Well, I should quit bothering you. Thanks for the advice, Shuichi. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me." She left, closing the door quietly behind her.

Shuichi stared at the closed door for a long time after she had gone, his hands dangling idly between his knees. "What am I going to do?" he whispered. "I should stop seeing him, but how can I when he's all I think about?"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Eiri knew the Shindou family schedule better than that of his own family, it seemed. He knew exactly when Mr. Shindou left for work each morning and when he returned each evening. He knew every class Mrs. Shindou was taking and when every group she belonged to met. He knew when all of Maiko's club meetings were and kept careful track of any changes in her schedule. And nearly every afternoon when he knew the house would be empty except for Shuichi, Eiri went to see him.

It was almost like an addiction. If he couldn't go for some reason, Eiri became short-tempered and irritable. And after an afternoon with Shuichi, he always felt calm and relaxed. It was completely insane and very exciting, but that did not meant Eiri wasn't careful. He always made sure no one saw him going into the Shindou house when he went just to see Shuichi.

Monday was his favorite day, since Shuichi was always alone and Eiri usually went out with Maiko on the weekends. But Maiko twisted her ankle when she and Eiri were out on Sunday, so she stayed home from her dance class on Monday and Eiri didn't get to see Shuichi. So by Wednesday, he was extremely snappish and determined to spend the entire afternoon in bed with Shuichi. It did not help at all that some friend of Mrs. Shindou stopped by unexpectedly and kept Shuichi talking on the porch for twenty minutes while Eiri waited just out of sight up the street. By the time she left, Eiri was fuming. He had to restrain himself to keep from pounding on the door when he was finally standing on Shuichi's front porch.

"What the hell did that stupid cow want?" Eiri snapped as soon as Shuichi opened the door. "I've been waiting forever for her to leave."

Shuichi grinned at him and some of Eiri's anger melted away. "She just wanted to gossip."

Eiri brushed past him and stepped out of his shoes. "She couldn't wait for your mother? Why didn't you tell her you were busy?"

"Because I wasn't busy." Shuichi poked Eiri in the chest. "You weren't here yet." He put his arms around Eiri's waist and pressed his face against his chest. "I couldn't concentrate on my new song because I kept hoping you would come over." His voice was muffled.

Eiri embraced him and kissed the top of his head. "Let's go to bed."

"Ok."

Eiri loved touching Shuichi's body. His sensitivity to caresses made him extremely responsive, which heightened the pleasure for Eiri. Eiri did not care for lovers who just lay there and let him satisfy himself. He wanted someone who was driven wild by his touch, someone who would move with him and hold on to him and beg for more. Who would have suspected that that person would be Shuichi?

And undressing him was half the fun. Eiri could lick almost anyplace on Shuichi's body and elicit an erotic response, so when they had time for foreplay, Eiri would undress Shuichi slowly, kissing and licking Shuichi's skin as he exposed it. He always tried to start someplace different, for variety, so today he started by pulling up the back of Shuichi's shirt as they sat beside each other on the bed and licking the small of his back.

Shuichi moaned softly. "Oh lord! Why does that feel so good?"

Eiri kept pushing Shuichi's shirt up, licking his way up Shuichi's spine.

"You know you're driving me crazy?"

"That was the plan. Are you hard yet?"

"I was hard when you walked in the door."

"That's one of the things I like about you." Eiri licked Shuichi's right shoulder. "Have you been losing weight? Your bones are sticking out more."

"I weigh the same as always," Shuichi said quickly.

Eiri suspected he was lying, but he didn't press the point. In fact, he was quite sure Shuichi was losing weight. He knew Shuichi's body probably better than Shuichi did, since he could see places Shuichi couldn't. He slid his arms around Shuichi's waist and started unbuttoning his shirt. Then he pulled Shuichi back against his chest, licking his neck just below the ear while caressing Shuichi's nipples with his fingertips.

Shuichi's breath came out in soft moans. His nipples were hard pebbles beneath Eiri's fingers. Eiri caught the little nubs between thumb and forefinger and squeezed them gently. Shuichi gasped. Eiri took Shuichi's shirt off and tossed it aside. Then he lifted Shuichi's left arm and licked him, starting at the elbow and working his way down through the armpit and along the side of his chest. He cradled Shuichi in his left arm and leaned him across his lap so he could lick his way across Shuichi's chest to his left nipple. Shuichi's breathing had grown increasingly rapid and he gasped aloud when Eiri's tongue stroked across the erect flesh. Eiri closed his lips around the pink bud and sucked it slowly, stretching it out as he pulled his mouth away.

"Ohh!" Shuichi groaned. His eyes were closed and he was panting. The bulge of his erection was unmistakable through his trousers.

"I think if I tease you much more, you won't be able to wait for me," Eiri chuckled.

"It feels so good!" Shuichi moaned.

Eiri lifted Shuichi's mouth to his and kissed him hungrily. He slid his tongue into Shuichi's mouth, coaxing Shuichi's tongue back into his own mouth so he could suck on it. "Would you like me to suck on anything else?" he whispered.

"I'll come if you touch it!" Shuichi gasped.

"That's sort of the idea," Eiri chuckled. He undid Shuichi's pants and pushed them down over his hips. Then he carefully pulled Shuichi's underwear down. "Lie down." Eiri licked his fingers. He went down on Shuichi and used his mouth and fingers to excite him, working Shuichi into a gasping frenzy that quickly exploded into orgasm.

"Oh, Yuki!" Shuichi cried.

Eiri kissed Shuichi's belly. "Take your pants off and turn over." While Shuichi obeyed his instructions, Eiri undressed and fished the lubricant out of his jacket pocket. "I should probably just leave this here. We make love here more often than anywhere else."

"But what if my mother found it!" Shuichi squeaked. "She goes in my drawers all the time to put my clothes away."

Eiri chuckled. "Well we can't have that!" He squeezed lubricant into his palm and applied it liberally to himself. "Get on your knees." He lifted Shuichi's hips and moved up close behind him on his knees, driving himself into Shuichi with a slow, steady thrust.

Shuichi dropped his forehead onto the bed and moaned. "Don't hurry, ok?" he breathed. "I want to enjoy it."

Eiri moved his hips slowly. "That's exactly what I was planning," he murmured. His head tilted back as his eyes slowly closed. Shuichi felt so incredibly good. Eiri savored the exquisite pleasure of being inside him. Shuichi's groans of joy made him feel even better. Eiri increased speed slowly, letting the pleasure build up in them gradually until they were both crying aloud. Eiri came first, but he didn't stop moving until Shuichi's gasp of ecstasy announced he had come too. Then he pulled out and they lay down on the bed together with Eiri spooned up against Shuichi's back. Eiri wrapped his arms around him and held Shuichi firmly against him.

"I love you, Yuki," Shuichi whispered.

Eiri was quiet for a long time. "Do you still feel guilty?"

"How can I not feel guilty?" Shuichi replied. His voice trembled slightly. "I just made love with my sister's boyfriend."

"Doesn't it make you happy that I want to be with you?"

"I've never been so happy in my life!"

"But it's not enough?"

Shuichi sighed. "It is enough. But I still feel guilty."

"You haven't been eating," Eiri said after a moment.

Shuichi squirmed. "I have to!"

Eiri pressed his hand against Shuichi's chest. "I can feel your ribs, Shuichi. I couldn't feel them this easily when we first started."

"It's hard!" Shuichi exclaimed unhappily. "How can I sit there eating and listen to Maiko talk about your last date? I just want to blurt out the truth!"

"If Maiko finds out, we won't be able to see each other anymore."

"I know that!" Shuichi began to weep softly. "I love you so much, Yuki! I don't want to stop seeing you! I just… I don't know what to do!"

Eiri touched his lips to Shuichi's ear. "Don't think about it right now. I'll give you something else to think about." He reached down and put himself back into Shuichi and Shuichi moaned. Eiri began moving inside him again and reached back in front to grasp Shuichi's erection. "Right now," Eiri whispered in his ear, "this is all that matters. I don't want you to think about anything but me."

Shuichi gasped with joy.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Maiko was tired when she got home from her theater group. With only two weeks to go before the premier of their play, rehearsals were becoming tense affairs. _I may have to stop going to dance until after the play_, Maiko thought to herself. _I just don't have enough energy to do both anymore_. She sat down to take her shoes off and then stared in surprise at the shoes piled by the door. _Eiri's here! He must be in Shuichi's room._ Maiko finished taking off her shoes, dumped her backpack by the railing and hurried upstairs. She stopped outside Shuichi's door, a little surprised. It was completely quiet. She knocked.

"Come in!" Shuichi called.

Maiko opened the door. Shuichi and Yuki were sitting in the middle of the floor playing cards. She blinked in surprise. "I wondered why it was so quiet."

"Yuki's teaching me to play cribbage," Shuichi said. He was staring at his cards with careful concentration.

"Oh. I didn't mean to bother you." Maiko felt a little flustered, but then Yuki put his cards down and smiled at her.

"We were about to stop. You don't mind, do you, Shuichi?"

Shuichi put his cards down also. "No, I don't mind. I should work on my song anyway." He grinned at Yuki. "I have an inspiration." Yuki grinned back.

For a moment, Maiko felt like an outsider. "Um, Eiri, do you have time to talk? There's something I want to ask you."

Shuichi gave her a warning look, but Maiko ignored him.

"Of course, Maiko." Yuki stood up. "I was waiting to see you, after all."

"Oh!" Maiko's pulse sped up. "Well, let's go downstairs so we aren't bothering Shuichi." She turned and led the way to the living room. But once they were seated on the couch, Maiko wasn't sure were to start. "Eiri, we've been dating for a while now."

"Yes."

"I was wondering…" Maiko dropped her eyes. This was so hard! "I was wondering if you ever think about… us… being closer."

"Closer?"

Maiko felt her cheeks turning pink. "You know. More… intimate."

"Ah." Yuki took her hand. "Maiko, I don't want you to offer to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. I enjoy your company. I have no problem with our relationship staying the way it is."

Maiko looked up, surprised. Yuki was smiling sweetly at her. "Are you sure?"

"Of course. I know what people say about me," Yuki said, "and there is some truth in it, but I tend to treat people the way they expect to be treated. You don't need to prove to me or anyone else that you deserve to be with me."

"Thank you for being so honest, Eiri," Maiko replied with great relief. "I didn't want to believe what my friends were saying, but I'm not experienced, so I wasn't sure."

Yuki put his hand under her chin and kissed her briefly on the lips. "Always trust your own feelings, Maiko."

"Yes, I will!" She beamed at him. "I feel so much better, now that we've talked about it. Will you stay for dinner?"

"I'd love to. I'll help you cook."


	5. Trouble

**Dear Readers:** Thank you so much for all the reviews! I am so glad you are enjoying this story! I am enjoying writing this story. I love Yuki and Shuichi!

-o-o-o-o-o-

Chapter 5: Trouble

Naniko, Hitomi and Aiko surrounded Maiko as soon as she arrived in the classroom Thursday morning.

"Well?" Naniko demanded. "Did you talk to him?"

"Yes," Maiko replied, trying to sound casual. "We discussed our relationship briefly. Yuki-san is fine with our relationship as it is. He said he would never ask me to do anything I wasn't ready to do."

"Really!" Naniko's disbelief was plain on her face. "And you believed that?"

"Of course! Why shouldn't I? Yuki-san has no reason to lie to me." Maiko made a show of getting her books and homework out of her backpack. The incredulous stares on her friend's faces were making her uncertain.

"Maybe not," said Hitomi. "But everyone I've ever talked to said he's really impatient in relationships."

Aiko nodded in agreement. "My friend Yoko went out with him once and when she asked him about a second date, he told her she talked too much. She was pretty hurt."

"But not so hurt she didn't keep bugging him about it," Naniko said with a snort. "She told me he said he'd go to bed with her if she promised not to talk the whole time. She said he was great." Naniko chuckled. "But then he kicked her out because she said thank you."

Aiko blushed. "She never told me that," she muttered.

Maiko frowned. "I don't know anything about the other girls he's gone out with. It's none of my business." She wouldn't meet their eyes. "All I'm telling you is that he said he likes our relationship the way it is." She pinched her lips together.

Naniko suddenly became thoughtful. Watching her face, Hitomi's eyes opened wide.

"You're not thinking…?" Hitomi trailed off.

Naniko nodded. "It's something he would do," she said.

"But that's really low!"

Aiko looked from one to the other in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Naniko glanced quickly at Maiko and then lowered her voice before answering. "Since he started going out with Maiko, other girls have been leaving him alone. But I can't believe he's happy not having sex. I bet he's getting it somewhere else, so he doesn't need it from Maiko, and in the meantime she makes a useful shield."

"I'm not a shield!" Maiko exclaimed. She felt tears forming in her eyes and quickly lowered her head. "Yuki-san cares about me! You don't know what you're talking about!"

Naniko put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Maiko. I didn't mean anything by it. I just don't want you to get hurt and I don't trust him. Maybe I'm just bitter about Gendo dumping me."

Maiko didn't answer and the three girls moved away, whispering among themselves. A tear trickled down her cheek and Maiko brushed it away. She did not want to believe what Naniko said, but she knew Yuki's reputation. A lot of girls claimed to have slept with him and they couldn't all be lying. _Why doesn't he want to sleep with me? Is there something wrong with me?_ Maiko peeked in Naniko's direction. The three girls were watching her and she quickly looked away. _Maybe I should ask him again. If he is just using me_... Maiko sniffed and had to struggle to hold back tears.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Shuichi's head was full of music. The melody was so persistent, he was oblivious to everything going on around him. Hiro had to nudge him to call his attention to the fact that their homeroom teacher was staring at him with great irritation.

"Shindou," Mr. Hanodi said with a frown, "I asked you to read the sentence on the board."

Shuichi jumped to his feet. "Yes, sir! I'm sorry, sir!" He stared at the board, where Mr. Hanodi had written a sentence in English. Shuichi read the sentence aloud, doing his best to get the pronunciation right.

"Well, that was certainly an interesting interpretation, Shindou." The class tittered. "Nakano, would you care to try?"

Hiro stood up and read the sentence aloud.

"Thank you." Mr. Hanodi went back to his lesson.

Shuichi leaned over to Hiro and whispered, "That's what I said!"

"Hardly," Hiro chuckled. "You completely mispronounced four words."

"There are only six in the sentence!"

Hiro grinned.

"Dammit!" Shuichi grumbled.

"New song?"

"Yeah!" Shuichi brightened. "You want to come over and listen?"

"Sure. We haven't seen that much of each other lately."

They walked together to the Shindou house after school. It felt like old times to Shuichi, to be working on music with Hiro and not worrying about anything else.

"I think this sounds like a love song. What do you think, Hiro?"

"Kind of. You've been writing a lot of love songs lately."

"Have I?" Shuichi kept his eyes on his keyboard. "I guess that's just the kind of mood I've been in."

Hiro was quiet for a moment. "How's your sister getting along with Eiri Yuki?"

Shuichi froze. "Just fine! Why do you ask?"

"There are rumors at school. Weren't you paying any attention?" Hiro regarded Shuichi's blank stare with amusement. "That was a stupid question! Of course you weren't. The female students are saying that Yuki's cheating on your sister."

"What!" Shuichi stared at Hiro in dismay. "Are they saying who with?" Rising panic made his voice squeak.

"No." Hiro gave him a puzzled frown. "What's the matter? Do you know something?"

"No!" Shuichi squeaked again. "There's nothing going on! I swear!" He stared at Hiro, his face alternately paling and flushing.

Hiro leaned forward. "Shuichi, what's the matter with you? You're acting really weird."

"Oh god!" Shuichi gasped. He buried his face in his hands. "It's me!" he wailed. "I'm the one he's having an affair with! I'm having an affair with my sister's boyfriend!"

Hiro blinked at him in silence.

"It's true!" Shuichi declared miserably. He looked at Hiro. "It's been going on for weeks, almost since he first started dating Maiko." Tears welled up in his eyes and spilled down his cheeks. "I know it's wrong, but I can't help it. I'm so hopelessly in love with him I can't think straight."

"You're having sex with him?"

"Yes," Shuichi admitted in a faint voice.

"I have to confess I'm completely surprised. I thought something was going on with you, but I never thought…" Hiro paused. "You know I would never judge you, right?"

Shuichi nodded, wiping tears from his cheeks with both hands.

"You shouldn't be fucking your sister's boyfriend."

Shuichi began to weep again. "I know," he exclaimed. "I keep telling myself that, but I can't stop. All he has to do is look at me and I fall into his arms. Being with him is so wonderful!"

Hiro sat back. "I don't know what to say. But he's either using Maiko or he's using you, and either one is bad. A decent guy wouldn't be doing this."

"We're both deceiving her," Shuichi replied sadly. "She'll hate me when she finds out."

"She might not find out if you stop seeing him right now. Break up with him."

"I can't." Shuichi bowed his head and sighed. "I don't want to." He looked up at Hiro with tear-filled eyes. "I really am in love with him, Hiro."

Hiro sighed. "I believe you. I think you're nuts, but I'll stick by you, whatever happens."

"Thank you."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Eiri closed the door to the journalism classroom to shut off the noise from the hallway. The rumors about him and Maiko had swelled to a torrent in a single day. It was really irritating. Surely they had something better to talk about. He tried to focus on the editorial he was writing about the decline in student test scores, but he kept digressing into an angry diatribe about gossip. He finally erased the entire article in irritation and pushed away from the computer.

"Writer's block?"

Eiri turned around and found his good friend, Tohma Seguchi, standing inside the closed door.

"I didn't hear you come in."

"Apparently." Tohma favored him with an amused smile and strolled across the room to lean against the desk next to him. "Hiding from the rumors?"

"Working. Trying to, anyway." Eiri ran his fingers through his hair. "Why is it that everyone finds my personal life so much more interesting than academics?"

"Because you're one of the beautiful people, my friend." Tohma smoothed Eiri's hair. "So is it true? Are you cheating on her?"

Eiri frowned at him. "That's none of your business."

Tohma grinned. "So it is true! Well, then, I have my own theory I want to try out."

"Would you get out of here?" Eiri growled.

"Not until you answer my question. I've given it considerable thought." Tohma began pacing. "Girls at this school can't keep a secret at all, so if you were doing it with one of them on the side, I'm sure she would have told someone by now and I would have heard about it. Therefore, you can't be fucking a girl from this school." Tohma winked at Eiri. "But I know you and there's no way you would waste time with a girl who was an effort to see, so it can't be a girl from another school. So then I got to thinking: who do you spend a lot of time with, other than Maiko and me?" He stopped and turned to face Eiri. "And then it hit me: Shuichi Shindou." He tipped his head to one side and smiled sweetly. "So tell me, when did you become a bisexual?"

"You think you're clever, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. Answer the question."

Eiri leaned back in his chair. "So you figured it out. What are you going to do about it?"

Tohma smiled suggestively at Eiri. "Well if I'd known you batted both ways, I would have tried harder, for one thing."

"That's not funny, Tohma."

"I wasn't trying to be funny. Girls aren't the only ones who think you're hot. Are you fucking him?"

Eiri glared at him.

"Forgive me for asking, but those of us in the 'never-been-fucked-by-Yuki-but-would-like-to-be' camp would love to know what he has that we don't. Is he the reason you started going out with Maiko? So you would have an excuse for hanging out with him?"

"No, in fact. I asked Maiko out because I like her. I'd never even heard of Shuichi Shindou before I met him at her house."

"And now you're fucking him. How long did you wait? One day?" Tohma shook his head. "Or did he come on to you?"

"The attraction was mutual."

"I notice you didn't answer my question about how soon after you met him you started fucking him."

"You seem a little fixated on the fucking."

Tohma chuckled. "Maybe I am. It happened right away, didn't it?"

"It was about a week later."

"I still can't believe you're doing it with a guy, after all the times I offered and was rebuffed. Or was I too subtle? How did he get to you?"

"It wasn't like that. Shuichi just… attracts me. I don't know why."

"I can guess, if he started putting out when you'd only known each other a week. Anyway, why are you still dating Maiko if Shuichi's the one you want?"

Eiri sighed in exasperation. "Because if I break up with her, I'll have no reason to stay friends with Shuichi."

"He must be good."

"Give it a rest, Tohma!"

"Well, you're going to have to break up with her sooner or later. Either that, or you'll have to start fucking her. The rumors are all over school that you're cheating on her, which you are, so unless you want her to figure it out, you better give her a reason to not question you."

"I'm not going to fuck Maiko."

"Then you better break up with one of them, because if the truth comes out that the infinitely popular Eiri Yuki is fucking a male sophomore, the proverbial shit will hit the fan and we're all going to get splattered."

Eiri rubbed his temples with his fingertips. "I almost wish I hadn't met him. My life has gotten so complicated."

"Then stop seeing him."

"Do you think I haven't told myself that? But whenever I think about doing it, we end up in bed and I can't. I really like being with him." He closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm really screwed, Tohma. There's no way this won't end badly."

Tohma gripped Eiri's shoulder and shook him gently. "Drop him, Eiri. It's the only smart thing to do, whether you dump Maiko or not."

Eiri didn't answer.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Maiko could not bring herself to confront Yuki about the rumors. After all, there was no proof and he might be insulted if he thought she believed it. But on their date on Saturday night, she could not help noticing little things. Although they were seated side-by-side at the small table in the candlelit restaurant, there was a respectable distance between their bodies. Other couples were snuggled close together, even sharing tidbits of food as they whispered in each other's ears. Yuki was always charming and he treated her with affection, but there was no real romance in his manner and not even a hint of passion. Maiko was left to conclude that, for whatever reason, Yuki was not physically attracted to her at all. Yet he continued to go out with her. It was very confusing.

"I heard you are losing your leadership counselor," Yuki said, startling Maiko out of her reverie.

"Yes, that's right. Mrs. Suzuki is taking maternity leave. Mr. Konoto is taking over."

"I hope that won't mess up the work you've done already planning the graduation ceremony."

"It shouldn't." Maiko couldn't help smiling. "Mrs. Suzuki brought Mr. Konoto to our meeting yesterday morning and made sure he understood exactly how she wanted things to go. I think he's a little afraid of her. I don't expect him to try to change anything."

"That's good. It took me weeks to break in Mr. Shintai as our journalism counselor this year. We get along fine now that he understands he's supposed to do as I say."

Maiko laughed.

"By the way," Yuki asked casually, "do you know if Shuichi is busy tomorrow?"

"Shuichi?" Maiko was confused by the change in subject. "I don't think so. Why?"

"I have two passes to the last day of the video game convention tomorrow and Tohma can't go with me. I don't want to waste the ticket and I thought Shuichi might enjoy it."

"That's very kind of you to think of him. He loves video games." Maiko smiled as she imagined Shuichi's squeal of excitement at receiving the invitation. "I think he goes out with you as often as I do, though!" she added, but as soon as the words left her lips, something nagged at her.

"I like Shuichi," Yuki said with a small smile. "He's fun to be with."

The nagging feeling got worse.

Yuki sipped his water. "Doesn't your play premier next week?"

The mention of her upcoming play chased the nagging feeling away. "Yes! It's a week from today, in fact. You'll come, won't you?"

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it."

Maiko started talking about the play and all the problems they were having in rehearsal that still had to be resolved and she forgot about the rumors and the nagging doubts. Yuki listened to her attentively, his eyes watching her face. When he looked at her like that, it was hard for Maiko to imagine that he was seeing someone else. When they arrived home later, she had forgotten about Yuki's plan to invite Shuichi to the convention the next day.

"Do you think Shuichi is still up?" Yuki asked when he escorted her to her front porch.

"Oh! The convention. I forgot." Suddenly, the nagging feeling she'd had before came back. Maiko glanced at her watch. "He's probably still up, practicing with his headphones on so Mom won't know he's not studying. Why don't you come in while I check?"

"Thanks."

Yuki waited in the front hall while Maiko went upstairs to Shuichi's room. She listened for a moment before knocking on the door, but she couldn't hear anything. She peeked in without waiting for his response. As she expected, he was sitting at his keyboard with his headphones on and his eyes closed, his fingers dancing over the keys. His expression was rapt and for a moment, Maiko felt guilty about interrupting him. But then his eyes opened and he gave her a big smile. He pulled off his headphones.

"Hey, Maiko. How was your date?"

"Just fine. Yuki's downstairs. He wants to ask you something."

Shuichi's eyes widened and he jumped to his feet. "Oh, yeah? What's it about?" But he didn't wait for her answer. He hurried past her and bounded down the stairs. "Hey, Yuki, what's up?"

Maiko watched from the top of the stairs as Yuki fixed his eyes on Shuichi's face.

"I have tickets to the video-con tomorrow. Want to go?"

Shuichi jumped into the air with a shout. "You bet! That's so cool! Thanks for asking me. What time?"

"I'll pick you up at eleven."

"Great! I'll be ready."

Yuki looked up at her. "Goodnight, Maiko. I'll see you on Monday."

"Goodnight." Maiko watched with a frown as Shuichi leaned out the door to exchange a last few words with Yuki before he left. The nagging feeling that was gnawing at the back of her mind moved into the front and insisted on pointing out that Yuki had not even offered to kiss her goodnight. "You and Yuki have become very good friends," she said to Shuichi as he came back upstairs.

A faint blush touched Shuichi's cheeks. "I guess so. He's a nice guy."

"Yes, he is."

"Well, goodnight!" Shuichi darted back into his room and quickly closed the door.

Maiko stared at his closed door for several seconds before moving on to her own room. A twinge of jealousy tugged at her heart. Shuichi spent as much time with Yuki as she did, maybe more when she considered all those afternoons when she came home and found Yuki already here. If he was seeing another girl, when did he have time?


	6. Painful Truth

**Warning**: This chapter contains strong sexual content.

_**Note**: I think I'm getting raunchier, or the boys are getting kinkier. I'm not sure which. Anyway, I had to make wording changes again. This M rating is tricky. The original is at mediaminer._

-o-o-o-o-

Chapter 6: Painful Truth

"That was so much fun!" Shuichi exclaimed. "And thanks for buying me this game." He clutched the plastic bag with the video game inside and bounced up and down on his toes. "Are you sure your parents won't mind if we play it at your house? I can get kind of loud."

Yuki smiled. "My parents aren't home. They're visiting our relatives in Kyoto." He unlocked the front door and led the way into the house. "They won't be back until late tonight. So you can be as loud as you want." His smile became suggestive.

Shuichi grinned through his blush. "I do want to play the game for a little while."

"We will."

Sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the video game system in Yuki's bedroom, Shuichi quickly beat Yuki four times in a row.

"Are you sure you haven't played this before?" Yuki complained. "You're awfully good at it."

"First time!" Shuichi assured him. He leaned over and kissed Yuki on the cheek. "I'm just better at it than you are."

"Brat!" Yuki pulled Shuichi into his lap and kissed him. Shuichi dropped his controller so he could embrace Yuki and kiss back passionately. Yuki unzipped Shuichi's pants and began stroking his erection through his underwear.

"Mmmm…" Shuichi moaned. "I like that," he mumbled against Yuki's lips.

"Why don't you take your clothes off?" Yuki mumbled back.

"You're just trying to have your way with me." Shuichi pulled his lips away. "I think we should play for it. Whoever wins the next game gets to take off whatever article of clothing from the loser that he wants." He raised his eyebrows. "Whoever ends up naked first has to let the winner do whatever he wants."

"You're setting me up."

"I want to be on top this time."

"We'll see about that."

A half-hour later, Shuichi was still completely dressed and Yuki was wearing nothing but his shirt.

"You did set me up," Yuki grumbled.

"I kicked your butt fair and square," Shuichi declared. "Hold still." He unbuttoned Yuki's shirt slowly and lifted it up over his head without undoing the cuffs.

"It's not going to come off that way."

"I know." Shuichi grinned as he knotted the shirt so that Yuki's hands were effectively bound above his head. Then he pushed Yuki onto his back. "Now I get to have fun." He stretched out on top of Yuki's naked body and kissed him deeply. "Say that you belong to me," he whispered, nibbling on Yuki's ear.

"Shuichi…"

"Say it!" Shuichi nipped his ear lobe.

"Ouch! All right! I belong to you."

"Good. Now remember, I get to do whatever I want." Shuichi moved to the side. "First of all, I want you to tell me when something feels good, ok?"

"Yes, master."

Shuichi giggled. "I like that!" He crawled to Yuki's feet and picked up his right foot. Slowly and deliberately, he wrapped his lips around Yuki's big toe and sucked on it. Yuki let out a soft gasp. "Do you like that?"

"Yes," Yuki groaned as Shuichi resumed sucking on his toe. "Umm… Ah… You're getting me hard."

"I noticed." Shuichi switched to his left big toe. Yuki moaned. Shuichi licked the inside of his ankle.

"I like that…"

Shuichi lifted Yuki's leg and leaned over so he could lick the back of his knee.

"I like that, too…"

Shuichi licked his way up the inside of Yuki's thigh. "Your skin smells good. It tastes good, too."

"That feels really good."

Shuichi kept working his way up and Yuki's breathing quickened. Then Shuichi sat up with a smile.

Yuki groaned. "I hope you're not going to stop there."

"I get to do what I want, remember?"

"Can I make suggestions?"

"Sure! I may ignore you, though." Shuichi stood up and started to undress. "But I promise you'll enjoy this. You always make me feel so good when we make love. I want to do the same for you."

"While I'm bound and helpless?"

"Oh, yeah!" Shuichi stepped out of his pants. "You wouldn't believe how much that's turning me on."

Yuki looked at Shuichi's erection and lifted an eyebrow. "Yes I would."

Shuichi looked down at himself and chuckled. "Ok, so it's obvious. But since I usually look like this when I'm alone with you, I thought it worth mentioning that I'm especially excited right now." He knelt back down beside Yuki's legs. "But I do need to get you ready for me." He leaned over and began giving Yuki head.

Yuki closed his eyes with a groan. "You know, it's… kind of exciting... getting head when I'm tied up like this." Shuichi kept at it and Yuki's groans got louder. He gasped when Shuichi stopped. "You're torturing me!"

"Only for a second." Shuichi straddled him and reached between his legs to guide Yuki into himself. He closed his eyes with a grunt as he settled onto Yuki's erection. He arched his back and leaned back, gripping Yuki's thighs as he rode up and down on his knees.

Yuki moaned and moved with him, his hips lifting up against Shuichi, his heels digging into the floor. He clenched and unclenched his fists helplessly, groaning aloud with deep pleasure. Shuichi rode him hard, driving his hips faster and faster. Yuki began to cry aloud through his open mouth, his hips bucking against Shuichi as his chest heaved.

"Shu-chan!" Yuki gasped.

"Is this good for you?" Shuichi gasped back. "Because it's really good for me!"

"Yes!" was all Yuki could manage. Tears of pleasure were leaking from his eyes.

Shuichi began groaning aloud. "Oh Yuki! I'm going to come!"

A wordless cry of ecstasy was Yuki's only answer. He bucked up hard against Shuichi, lifting him up into the air. Shuichi clutched Yuki's shuddering thighs and held on for dear life as his erection exploded into orgasm.

"AHHH!"

Yuki slumped to the floor and Shuichi collapsed on top of him, stretching out on his chest.

"That was really good!" Yuki panted.

"I promised you'd enjoy it."

"I love a man of his word."

Shuichi lifted his head. "Do you really love me?"

"Of course I do."

"You've never said so."

"We're lovers, Shuichi."

"We have sex."

Yuki shook his head and kissed Shuichi's forehead. "We're lovers," he repeated softly. "I've had sex with other people. You're the only person I've ever made love with."

"Really?"

"Really." Yuki kissed him on the mouth. "I should take you home. It's getting late."

"I wish I could stay with you longer." Shuichi untied Yuki's hands and started to sit up, but Yuki caught his shoulders and pulled him back down for a long, deep kiss. Then he looked into Shuichi's eyes.

"Please don't doubt my feelings for you, Shu-chan," he said. "I truly want to be with you."

Shuichi returned his gaze, but he didn't say anything. Yuki still hadn't said the words.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

It was a bonus getting to see Shuichi two days in a row. Eiri had made sure to ask Maiko first thing Monday if she would be going to her dance class that afternoon. She had told him previously that she was thinking of skipping it because of her play, but Eiri talked her into going anyway. He felt a little guilty about it. Maiko had a strong sense of obligation to others and it made her easy to manipulate. She looked tired, too, which made him feel even worse for doing it, but the desire to see Shuichi was impossible to deny. So when he saw her heading off with the other girls from her dance class, Eiri went straight to the Shindou house.

"Yuki!" Shuichi exclaimed when he answered the door. "I didn't expect to see you! Maiko told me she was going to skip dance today."

Eiri embraced him as soon as the door was closed. "I talked her into going. I wanted to see you." He kissed Shuichi deeply, savoring the warmth and softness of Shuichi's lips. Shuichi returned his kiss with passionate abandon. "I really enjoy kissing you," Eiri murmured. "Sometimes when I kiss people, I get the feeling that they're thinking about other things. When I kiss you, I have the distinct impression you're not thinking about anything but me. I like that."

"Why would I think about anything else?" Shuichi looked into his eyes. "All I ever think about is you."

Eiri returned his gaze feeling a little overwhelmed. Shuichi's devotion was intimidating. He touched his lips to Shuichi's forehead. "I want to make love with you."

Shuichi hugged him. "Two days in a row! We've never done that before." He grabbed Eiri's hand and dragged him up the stairs. In his room, Shuichi flopped down on the bed with a wide smile. "I was just thinking about how nice it would be to tie you up again." He giggled. "That was really hot!"

Eiri stretched out beside him. "I think it should be my turn." He unbuckled his belt and pulled it out of the loops. "Put your hands together above your head." Shuichi complied and Eiri wrapped the belt around his wrists. "Isn't it convenient that your headboard has this decorative railing along the bottom?" Eiri looped the belt through the railing and then fastened it to the end around Shuichi's wrists. "Now, you just lie there and let me entertain myself."

Shuichi's eyes widened with excitement. "Just what are you planning to do to me?"

Eiri began unbuttoning Shuichi's shirt. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe I'll see how excited I can get you without making you come." Shuichi's breathing quickened as Eiri pushed his shirt open and trailed his fingers down the middle of Shuichi's chest. "Although I anticipate failing multiple times." He smiled and Shuichi drew in a deep breath. Eiri stroked a finger along the front of Shuichi's pants. "You seem to be getting ahead of me." Shuichi began to pant. "I think I'll have to do something about this."

Bondage suited Shuichi. He was already extremely sensitive to sexual stimulation. Being helpless heightened his responsiveness tremendously. Eiri found almost anything he did to Shuichi made him come. He managed to get Shuichi's pants off without triggering him, but as soon as Eiri touched his erection, Shuichi came.

"Now, now, Shuichi," Eiri teased, "you need to have better control than that."

"I can't help it!" Shuichi gasped. "I'm so turned on!"

"Oh, you haven't even begun to be turned on." Eiri sucked on his right nipple and Shuichi groaned aloud. "Now," Eiri whispered, letting his lips brush against Shuichi's nipple as he spoke, "I'm going to show you what it means to be really turned on."

Everything Eiri did to Shuichi he had done to him before, but there was something deliciously arousing about doing it when Shuichi could do nothing to stop him. Eiri realized he was as excited by Shuichi's helplessness as Shuichi was, although he managed to control his arousal a lot better than Shuichi did. By the time Eiri settled on his knees between Shuichi's spread legs and lifted his hips so he could enter him, Shuichi had already come two more times.

"Now, Shuichi, it's time for you to give me everything," Eiri whispered and he began driving himself into Shuichi as deeply as he could. The pleasure of it was shocking. As many times as he had been in Shuichi, this time was exhilarating beyond words. Shuichi cried aloud as Eiri took him, his whole body shuddering in response to Eiri's powerful thrusts.

The ecstasy of his climax stopped Eiri's breath in his throat. For a moment, he couldn't move or think. He just held onto Shuichi as his entire existence was focused for an instant in the exquisite pleasure in his loins. When he could finally focus his eyes on Shuichi again, he saw that Shuichi had climaxed too.

Shuichi was weeping as he panted. "Oh, Yuki," he breathed. "I've never come so hard before!"

"Neither have I." Eiri stared at Shuichi as the truth of that statement struck him. No one had ever made him feel the way Shuichi did. In fact, in or out of bed, he preferred Shuichi's company. Watching his face, Eiri knew what Shuichi wanted to hear, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. Instead, he said, "We should take a shower before Maiko gets home. You've really made a mess."

Shuichi grinned at him. "That's not my fault. You're just too good."

Eiri smiled back. "I was inspired."

-o-o-o-o-

Maiko wished she had not let Yuki convince her to go to dance. She wouldn't have missed anything. The other girls had ended up squabbling about what music to use and Maiko had finally left early, claiming she had a headache. She did have a headache in fact, brought on by their arguing, so it wasn't a lie. It was a relief to be home.

But as soon as she opened the door, she stopped in surprise. Yuki's shoes were lined up neatly next to Shuichi's in the entryway. She closed the door with a frown. _Why is Eiri here? He knew I would be at dance._ She dropped her backpack and her gym bag where she was standing and kicked off her shoes. Just as she started toward the stairs, Yuki appeared at the top. His hair was wet.

"Eiri-kun!" Maiko exclaimed. "I didn't know you were coming over." She stared at him uncertainly. "Why is your hair wet? Were you taking a shower?"

Yuki touched his hair and smiled. "I was washing my face," he replied. "I must have gotten my hair wet." He came down the stairs and kissed her on the cheek.

"Oh." That didn't make any sense, but for the moment, Maiko let it go. Her headache suddenly made her tired of feeling like she was always missing something. "Eiri, I feel like our relationship isn't going anywhere. We go out all the time, but I don't think we know each other any better now than we did when we first met. Why are you still dating me? My friends all think we should be sleeping together by now, but we aren't. You don't seem interested in me physically at all. Are you seeing someone else?"

Yuki smiled disarmingly. "Maiko, just because the only interest other girls had for me was sex doesn't mean I see you the same way. I like you for other reasons."

"What reasons? According to my friends, you were having sex two or three times a week before we started dating. Everyone thinks you're still having sex with someone and I know it's not me. Who is she? Who are you seeing?"

"I'm not seeing another girl, Maiko," Yuki said patiently.

"That's what I told myself when I wanted to believe my friends were wrong. The only person you seem to spend any time with other than me is Shuichi…" Maiko stopped in mid-sentence as a sickening realization struck her. Suddenly, all the times she'd come home and found Yuki already here, all the times he'd taken Shuichi places, all the little looks and whispered exchanges made horrible sense. She stared at Yuki and the resignation on his face told her everything.

"How could you?" she whispered. The sinking sensation in her stomach made her feel like she was going to throw up. "With my brother? You've been seeing my brother?" She couldn't look at him.

"Maiko…"

"Get out!" she cried abruptly. "Get out of my house! I never want to see you again!"

"Maiko please let me explain!"

"NO!" Maiko screamed. She put her hands over her ears. "GET OUT!" She squeezed her eyes shut, as much to hold in the tears as to block out the sight of him. She stood frozen until she felt the faint rush of air as the door closed behind her. Then she dropped her hands to her sides and looked up the stairs. "Shuichi," she whispered. She walked slowly up the stairs, but she did not stop outside his door, or knock. She thrust the door open so sharply it smacked against the wall with a loud bang.

Shuichi was sitting huddled on his bed. He jumped at the sound of the door crashing into the wall and immediately flung himself onto his knees in front of her, his hands held out to her pleadingly. "I'm sorry, Maiko! I'm so sorry!" he cried.

"How could you do this to me!" Maiko exclaimed. "You betrayed me!"

"I never meant for this to happen!" he wept. "I swear I didn't!"

"Tell me you haven't been having sex with him," Maiko demanded angrily. "Tell me you're not his lover!"

Shuichi hung his head and his shoulders slumped. "I can't!" he whispered in a shaking voice. "I'm in love with him!"

For a long time, Maiko couldn't think. All she could do was look at Shuichi and imagine him in Yuki's arms receiving the kisses she never got. "I hate you!" she whispered. "Never speak to me again!" She whirled away and stumbled to her room, suddenly blinded by tears. She collapsed onto her bed, muffling her sobs in the lacy covering of her pillow sham.


	7. Heartbreak

Chapter 7: Heartbreak

The house was completely quiet when Mrs. Shindou arrived home. She was surprised and a little worried. Normally, one of the children would have dinner started by now, but there was no sign that anyone had been in the kitchen all afternoon. "Hello?" she called. There was no response. She moved to the bottom of the stairs. "Maiko? Shuichi?" After still no response, she went upstairs.

The door to Shuichi's room was open. He was lying in the middle of the floor with his back to the door. For a moment, she felt a sharp panic and then she saw his side rise and fall as he took a breath. _He's asleep._ Feeling relieved, she continued down the hall to Maiko's room. Maiko's door was closed. Mrs. Shindou knocked. There was no response and she knocked again. This time, she heard a muffled response. She opened the door and went in.

Maiko was lying on her bed with her arms wrapped around her pillow. Her face was blotched and her eyes were red. She had obviously been crying. Mrs. Shindou hurried to sit down beside her.

"Maiko! What's wrong?" She stroked her daughter's hair.

"Yuki…" Maiko whispered.

Mrs. Shindou's heart stopped. "Did he… do something to you?"

"No." Maiko's voice was desolate. "He's been… seeing someone else."

"Oh!" Mrs. Shindou was surprised. Eiri Yuki had seemed so fond of Maiko. He had spent so much time at their house. She stroked Maiko's hair again. "I'm sorry, dear. Sometimes young men develop other interests…" she began.

"It's Shuichi!" Maiko cried suddenly. She sat up and flung her arms around her mother's neck. "He's been sleeping with Shuichi!"

"What?" Mrs. Shindou was confused. She was sure she hadn't heard that right.

Maiko wept on her shoulder. "Yuki and Shuichi are lovers. He admitted it."

Mrs. Shindou did not know what to say. With a son and a daughter, it had never occurred to her that she would need to be prepared to handle a boyfriend conflict. And Shuichi was too young for an intimate relationship! How had this happened? How had she not seen it? Sudden fury burned in her stomach, making her feel nauseous. She had trusted Eiri Yuki! She had trusted him with her family and he had betrayed them! She embraced Maiko tightly.

"I am so sorry, dear! I truly believed he cared for you."

"He used me so he could spend time with Shuichi!"

"He used all of us, including Shuichi," Mrs. Shindou said as gently as she could, trying to suppress her own anger. "I know you're angry with him, but Yuki victimized him, too."

"He knew what he was doing!"

"Shuichi is still a child, Maiko. He is too young to understand what he was getting into."

Maiko sat back and met her mother's eyes. "He's sixteen. He's not a little kid." She frowned unhappily. "I'm trying not to blame Shuichi, but how can I forgive him? He knew how much Yuki meant to me."

Mrs. Shindou nodded. "I understand how you feel. I know it's hard." She took Maiko's hands in hers. "We just have to take this slowly. I'm sure Shuichi feels as badly as you do."

Maiko heaved a deep sigh. "Dad will be home soon. I'd better go start dinner. Maybe doing something normal like cooking will make me feel better." She offered her mother a faint smile.

"I'll be right down to help you."

Maiko passed Shuichi's door without looking in. Following her, Mrs. Shindou stopped in the doorway and looked down at Shuichi. She walked around and knelt down in front of him. Shuichi had his fists clasped together in front of his chest but his eyes were open. He had clearly been crying too.

"I talked to Maiko," Mrs. Shindou said.

Shuichi looked up at her with a wounded expression. "I didn't mean to hurt her," he whispered.

"Did he seduce you?"

Shuichi shook his head slowly. "I wanted to be with him."

"Shuichi, you are too young to have those kinds of feelings."

"I'm not too young!" he exclaimed. He pushed up onto one hand. "I love Yuki! I really do!"

Mrs. Shindou sat back on her heels. Shuichi's confession made her angry. "He used you, Shuichi, and he deceived Maiko so he could get away with it. I can see that your feelings are very strong, but it's over. I forbid you to see Eiri Yuki again. I forbid you to speak to him. That means no phone calls, no email, no text messaging, no instant messenger. I mean it."

Shuichi stared at her. His face went pale. "Please, no! I need him!"

"That's enough!" Mrs. Shindou stood up. "Do as I say, Shuichi. Eiri Yuki is no longer welcome in this house."

Shuichi slumped to the floor with a heartbroken sob. Mrs. Shindou closed the door behind her as she left. Her own eyes were stinging. How had she let this happen to her children? How could she have been so fooled?

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Maiko was glad she and Shuichi seldom walked to school together. She was not prepared to face him yet. It hurt to think that all the time she had been talking to him about starting a more intimate relationship with Yuki, he was already involved in one. Once again, she was left to wonder what was wrong with her. Was she so unappealing that even a boy was more attractive? And now she had to face her friends. Maiko wondered if there was any way she could hide it.

But as soon as she walked into the classroom, she realized there was no point in it. Sooner or later it would come out. Better that she be the one to say it than let spiteful rumors spread it. She also realized that her face was giving her away, because as soon as Naniko looked at her, her eyes went round. She hurried over to Maiko's desk as Maiko sat down.

"Maiko, is something wrong?" Naniko kept her voice low, almost as if she knew.

"I guess it shows," Maiko answered quietly. She managed a faint smile. "You did warn me, though. Yuki and I broke up."

"I'm sorry," Naniko said with genuine sympathy. "Was he seeing someone?"

"Yes." Maiko didn't elaborate and thankfully Naniko didn't ask.

"Well, you did go out with him longer than anyone else ever has. That's something."

"I suppose."

Naniko went back to her own desk, but she leaned over to whisper to Hitomi as soon as she sat down. Maiko lowered her eyes. It would be all over the school by lunch time.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Eiri holed up in the journalism room during the lunch break. It seemed as if everyone knew he and Maiko had broken up and half the girls in the school were lining up to take her place. He had forgotten how persistent they could be. Maiko had certainly kept him insulated from this nonsense. He didn't look when someone entered the room. Most people knew better than to bug him when he was working.

"So she found out." Tohma spoke from behind him.

"Yes." Eiri kept typing, hoping Tohma would take the hint and go away. Instead, he walked all the way around and leaned on the other side of the desk so Eiri could not avoid looking at him over the top of his monitor.

"What about Shuichi?"

"His mother called me last night and told me she had forbidden him to see me again. She asked me to respect her decision and leave him alone."

"Are you going to?"

Eiri frowned at him.

"You said you're really attracted to him."

"I respect Mrs. Shindou."

"Well then, if you need someone to help you drown your sorrows and relieve any tensions you might be experiencing, I'm happy to volunteer my services." Tohma grinned at him. Then he looked up and his smile faded. "Uh oh."

"Yuki, can I talk to you for a minute?" Shuichi's voice sounded forlorn and lost.

"Go away, Shuichi," Eiri said flatly. "You're not supposed to talk to me."

"But Yuki, how can I do that?" His voice was shaking. "You know I need you."

Eiri stood up but he didn't turn around. He didn't trust himself to meet Shuichi's eyes. "I think Maiko would prefer it if no one knew about us. We can trust Tohma to say nothing, but I think it would be better if we were not seen together at school. You should go."

Shuichi choked back a sob. "Don't you care about me?"

"It doesn't matter now. It's over between us." He closed his eyes at the sound of Shuichi's heartbroken sob. The door closed and Eiri sank back into his seat. He scrubbed a hand over his face.

"He looked really hurt," Tohma said.

"I'm such an idiot," Eiri said softly.

Tohma studied his face. "You really care about him, don't you?"

"Like I said, it doesn't matter now." Eiri started typing again. "I don't want to hurt either of them any more than I already have. It's over."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Yuki's rejection crushed what little hope Shuichi had left. He had felt guilty disobeying his mother, but the need to see Yuki overwhelmed him. And then Yuki wouldn't even look at him. It was devastating. The rest of the day passed in a blur. He did not even notice when the final bell rang and they were dismissed for the day.

"Shuichi, wake up!" Hiro nudged his shoulder. "School's over."

"It is?" Shuichi looked up. Most of the other students had already left. Mr. Hanodi was gone as well. "Oh."

"What's the matter with you?"

"Maiko found out," Shuichi answered in a hoarse whisper.

"Oh." Hiro sat down. "That's not good."

"My mother told me I couldn't see Yuki anymore." Tears began to spill down Shuichi's face. "But I went to see him anyway. He wouldn't even look at me." He sobbed helplessly. "I thought once maybe he loved me, but now I think he was just using me for sex. He never really cared about me." He buried his face in his hands. "But I'd still go to bed with him if he asked me," he wept. "I can't think about anything but him."

Hiro put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Shuichi."

"What am I going to do?"

"Go home and play music. That's what you do."

Shuichi continued to weep. "Yuki said I was talented."

"You are talented."

"He liked my voice."

"You have a beautiful voice."

"Do you think he ever cared about me?"

"I don't know how he couldn't. You're a great person, Shuichi."

Shuichi wiped the tears from his cheeks. "Do you think Maiko will ever forgive me?"

"I know she will."

Shuichi stared at the wetness on his fingers. "I feel like I'm never going to stop crying."

"You will."

"You must think I'm a fool."

"I don't." Hiro clasped Shuichi's hand and squeezed it. "You fell in love with someone you shouldn't have. That's not foolishness; just bad luck."

"But I still want him, even if he was just using me."

"That's why your mother forbade you to see him," Hiro said gently. "So you would have time to get over him."

"I don't think I'll ever get over him."

"Give yourself time."

Shuichi hung his head. How could he explain this to anyone? How could he explain that he would rather be with Yuki, even if Yuki didn't love him, than suffer miserably without him?

-o-o-o-

"So you're still here."

Eiri turned at the unfamiliar male voice to find a student whose face was vaguely familiar. The door to the journalism room stood open. The hallway beyond was empty. The young man leaning casually against the doorframe was quite handsome, with long hair hanging loose around his shoulders.

"Can I do something for you?"

"Yeah, you can answer a question. Were you just using Shuichi or did you really care about him?"

"Why should I tell you?" Eiri answered without expression. "Who are you?"

The young man smirked. "Well, that tells me how much you know about Shuichi. I've only been his best friend since grade school. I am Hiroshi Nakano."

Eiri had heard of him. He was one of the top students in his class and very popular with the girls. Eiri folded his arms across his chest. "My relationship with Shuichi is none of your business, best friend or not," he replied.

"Oh, really? So you don't care that you ripped his heart out today by refusing to look at him? He worships the ground you walk on and you can throw him away, just like that?" Hiro glared at him from under his lowered eyebrows.

Eiri held Hiro's gaze evenly. "His mother forbade him to speak to me. I was honoring her wishes. Don't you think I've done enough harm to that family?"

"At least you acknowledge it."

"I don't really want to discuss this, Nakano. My relationship with Shuichi was private and now it's over. If you want to talk to someone about it, talk to him."

"I did." Hiro strode forward until he was standing directly in front of Eiri, staring down at him from the advantage of his upright position. "I got to sit there and listen to him say that he would still go to bed with you if you asked him, even though he knows you don't love him. I got to sit there and watch him cry knowing damn well there was nothing I could say or do that would make him feel any better. You crushed the heart and soul out of my best friend, not because you dumped him, but because you're a heartless bastard who couldn't even lie and say you loved him. Shuichi gave you his heart and you ground it underfoot. I hope you rot in hell." Hiro turned on his heel and marched from the room without looking back.

Eiri unfolded his arms when he realized his hands were shaking. He looked down at his trembling fingers. "Shuichi thinks I don't love him," he whispered. He looked up at the open door and the empty hallway. "When did I ever say I didn't love him?"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

It seemed odd to Maiko that something so heartbreaking could happen and life just went on. She still had her clubs and classes to attend. The play she had been rehearsing for all semester went off without a hitch, despite a last minute panic. Nothing about her life had changed except that Eiri Yuki was no longer a part of it. She still saw him occasionally at school, but he did not try to speak to her. It was as if they had never been involved. In a way, Maiko wasn't even that hurt. Not for herself anyway. She had had fun with Yuki.

What hurt was Shuichi. The end of his relationship with Yuki had devastated him. Although he still spent most of his time in his room playing music, the irrepressible sparkle that she had always associated with him was gone. He was listless and deflated.

He also wasn't eating. A slender boy to begin with, Shuichi began to look emaciated. Maiko could not help worrying about him. He was her little brother after all, even if he had been sleeping with her boyfriend.

"Maiko, would you please call Shuichi for dinner?"

"Sure." Maiko went up to his room but she stopped outside the door. Shuichi was singing. Maiko stopped to listen to him. The song had a pleasant, lilting melody, but the words were heartbreaking. She swallowed and knocked on the door. Shuichi broke off.

"Come in."

Maiko opened the door. "It's time for dinner, Shuichi."

"I'm not hungry."

Maiko stepped into the room and settled onto her knees. "Shuichi, you need to eat. You're practically a skeleton."

He looked down at himself. "Does it matter?" His voice was forlorn. There were tears in his eyes. "I'm really sorry I had an affair with Yuki behind your back. I loved him so much I couldn't stop myself from doing it." The tears slid down his cheeks. "I still want him even though I know he never loved me."

"How do you know he doesn't love you?"

Shuichi sniffed. "He doesn't even look at me now. I might as well not exist."

"That doesn't prove anything. He probably just doesn't want people to know."

"If he loved me, he wouldn't care."

Maiko couldn't answer that, but for some reason, she found it less humiliating to think that Yuki cheated on her because he loved Shuichi. Otherwise… Well, that meant he had just been using them both. "Please come eat something, Shuichi. For my sake."

He blinked at her uncertainly. "Do you forgive me?"

Maiko nodded and she offered him a small smile. "Yeah, I forgive you. I can hardly blame you for falling in love with him. Everyone else has."

Shuichi smiled through his tears.


	8. Confession

**Warning**: This chapter contains strong sexual content. It's also the last one.

_**Note**: Now I know I'm getting raunchier. I had to make a lot of wording changes this time. That Adult rating over at mediaminer sure is liberating._

Chapter 8: Confession

Maiko's leadership club had spent the whole year planning the graduation ceremony and party. But once graduation day arrived, it would be pretty much out of her hands and Maiko would have nothing to do but chew her nails and pray nothing went wrong. Of course, there were last minute problems. The class valedictorian, a shy girl with thick glasses, was supposed to make the graduation speech, but two days before graduation, she caught Maiko between classes and begged to be let out of the honor.

"I couldn't speak in front of so many people!" Emiko Kintai exclaimed nervously. "Can't someone else do it?"

"Well, the valedictorian is supposed to speak," Maiko replied.

Emiko flushed. "I just don't think I can do it."

"What if you had a written speech? Could you just read that? You wouldn't even have to look up."

Emiko bit her lip. "I might be able to do that."

"All right. I'll have someone write a speech for you, ok?"

"Thanks, Maiko-san!" Emiko bowed quickly and hurried away.

Maiko sighed. Who was she going to get to write a speech for Emiko on such short notice? The best choice was probably Eiri Yuki, but Maiko was not sure she was ready to talk to him. It had only been three weeks since they broke up. But of course, she didn't need to ask him herself. She could have their counselor, Mr. Konoto, ask him.

Mr. Shintai, the journalism counselor, brought her the speech the next day. "Eiri Yuki hopes this speech is what you were looking for. He appreciates that you asked him to do it."

"He was the best choice. I'm glad he had the time." Maiko glanced at the paper and her eyes widened as she read. "Wow. This is really good."

"I think he stayed up all night working on it," Mr. Shintai said.

Maiko nodded absently as she continued to read. "He writes so well," she said when she finished. "Please thank Yuki-san for me and tell him how grateful I am."

"I will."

Maiko folded the speech carefully and put it away in the leadership folder in her backpack. _I can give a copy to Emiko this afternoon so she can practice with it tonight. Eiri really put a lot of effort into this._ She sighed. Despite what happened, she still liked him. If his affair had been with anyone else but Shuichi, she might have been able to stay friends with him. But Shuichi's heartbreak precluded that. Maiko sighed again.

-o-o-o-

At graduation, Eiri Yuki's speech was well received, despite Emiko's nervous delivery. It was the highlight of the graduation ceremony and everyone talked about it at the party afterward. Maiko was quick to give credit where it was due, which surprised her friends.

"You asked Eiri Yuki to write the graduation speech?" Hitomi exclaimed in surprise.

"I wasn't about to write it!" Maiko laughed. "I'm not good with words and Yuki-san is. Emiko was trying to weasel out on me so I needed a good speech she could just read."

"But I'm surprised you asked him."

"I didn't ask him myself. I haven't spoken to him since we broke up. But he was the best person to do it and I wanted the graduation ceremony to be perfect."

"It was perfect," Aiko said earnestly. "I cried."

"I noticed."

"There's Yuki." Naniko nodded in his direction.

"Surrounded by girls as usual," Hitomi noted. "They've been all over him like flies on honey since you broke up."

"He doesn't look happy, though," Aiko said. "It doesn't look like he's talking to them."

"With looks like that, he doesn't have to talk," Naniko said. "It's not fair that he can still be that good-looking after the way he treated you, Maiko."

"He didn't treat me that badly. We had a lot of fun together."

Naniko studied her face. "You're taking it pretty well."

Maiko shrugged. "Graduation is a time of transition, isn't it? We probably would have moved on from each other anyway. We're going to different universities."

"Very philosophical," Hitomi said approvingly. "And you'll meet a bunch of new guys at college. Better to show up unattached, I say, and take your pick there. As pretty as you are, Maiko, I bet they'll be queued up waiting to ask you out."

"You think so?" Maiko chuckled. "I suppose that's something to look forward to, but I think I'll focus on my studies first." She glanced at her watch. "I have to get home. My mother is planning a special graduation dinner for me."

"You're not going out?"

"No, so come by later. I have a present for you."

"Ok. I have one for you too. I'll bring it over."

"Great! See you later."

Mrs. Shindou's special dinner included all of Maiko's most favorite dishes. After dinner, Shuichi played a new song that he said he'd written especially for her, before retreating to his room. It felt like their family was finally getting back to normal, although Shuichi's withdrawn manner reminded Maiko how sad he still was.

When the doorbell rang later, Maiko jumped up to answer it. "That's for me!" Hitomi was the first of her friends to stop by, but others showed up as the evening progressed. Maiko had gifts to exchange with all of them. Whichever gifts she still had at the end of the evening, she planned to deliver the next day. She still had quite a few left when the doorbell rang for the seventh time that evening.

Maiko was so stunned to find Eiri Yuki standing outside that she just stared at him without speaking.

"Maiko, may I speak with you?"

"Uh… of course." She opened the door so he could come in.

He stepped into the entryway and slipped out of his shoes. "I would like to apologize to you and to your parents. It seemed fair to do it in person so you could slap my face if you wanted to." He smiled slightly.

Maiko almost laughed. "I'm not going to hit you, Eiri-san. But I would like an explanation." She fixed her eyes on his face. "Did you ask me out just so you could have a relationship with Shuichi?"

"No." He met her gaze evenly.

"Then why did you start seeing him?"

"I fell in love with him."

Maiko stared. "But… if you care about him, why have you been ignoring him? He's absolutely heartbroken."

"Your mother called me that night and asked me to leave him alone so he could get over me. But I don't want him to get over me. I want him back." He glanced toward the living room. "I came to ask your parents permission to date him. Openly."

"Eiri…"

"What I did was wrong, Maiko. I should have told you as soon as I started seeing him. I didn't mean to hurt you and I never wanted to hurt him. Shuichi is the most important person in the world to me."

"Wow." To her surprise, Maiko was relieved rather than angry. "I am upset that you deceived me, but I'm glad that you weren't deceiving Shuichi. He really loves you."

"Will you ask your parents if they'll see me?"

"Sure. Come in." Maiko led the way into the living room.

Mrs. Shindou looked up and frowned angrily. "I thought I said you were no longer welcome here, Yuki-san."

Yuki immediately knelt down in front of Mr. and Mrs. Shindou and bowed all the way to the floor with his hands in front of him. "I have come to offer my profoundest apologies for my behavior. I will make no excuses. I kept my feelings for Shuichi a secret out of a sense of personal pride." He straightened up. "Mrs. Shindou, I have respected your request that I leave Shuichi alone. But now I am asking for your permission to begin seeing him again. Shuichi is very important to me. I want to be with him."

"Shuichi is too young for the kind of relationship you got him involved in," Mrs. Shindou said. Mr. Shindou nodded his agreement with an angry glare.

"I won't have sex with him again while he's still in high school."

"You'll understand if I'm not prepared to just take your word for that," Mrs. Shindou replied archly.

Yuki inclined his head slightly. "It's probably just as well. I doubt I would keep my word. I love Shuichi very much."

"You expect us to say yes after making a statement like that?" Mr. Shindou snapped.

"Mom," Maiko interrupted. "I think we should let Shuichi decide. It's his life."

"But…"

"And he's not that young," Maiko added with a smile. "I'll go get him." She immediately left the room.

-o-o-o-

Shuichi sat in front of his keyboard but he wasn't playing. He was thinking about Yuki as usual and suffering from a fairly advanced state of arousal.

"Why can't I stop thinking about him?" he muttered darkly. "He used me! I should hate him! Dammit!" But it was impossible to hate Eiri Yuki. Every time Shuichi tried, the memories of all the fun things they'd done together, besides sex, kept coming back to him and made him miss Yuki's company even more. Thinking about the sex just put him in the state he was in now: so achingly aroused he had to sit on his hands to keep from touching himself.

And he absolutely refused to jerk off while thinking about Yuki. That seemed too pathetic even for him.

"Shuichi!" Maiko called from downstairs. "Can you come to the living room, please? We need to talk to you."

Shuichi sighed. His parents had done nothing but talk to him for the past few weeks. His mother seemed to think he was still a little boy who should not know anything about sex. With resignation, he trudged to the top of the stairs. "What is it?"

"Come to the living room."

Shuichi sighed again and thumped down the stairs. "What's it about?" he began, but stopped dead when he entered the living room. Eiri Yuki knelt in front of his parents, looking as beautiful as only Eiri Yuki could. "Yuki…" he breathed. Desire nearly swamped him and it took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to fling himself into Yuki's arms.

Maiko put her arm across his shoulder. "Shuichi, Yuki has come over to apologize and ask for permission to date you. What do you think? Should we let him?"

Shuichi swallowed. "Date me?" He was completely confused. "I don't understand."

Yuki stood up and faced him. "I love you, Shuichi. Please forgive me for hurting you. I want to start seeing you again."

"Love… me…?" Shuichi blinked at him. None of this made any sense at all. His parents were staring at him and he wondered if they could tell how aroused he was.

Yuki smiled. "Yes." He stepped to Shuichi and cupped his face in his hands. "I think I fell in love with you the first time I saw you standing there in that apron with the tomato spatters all over it. I want you back. I want to spend all my free time with you again. I want to hold you in my arms and tell you every day how much you mean to me." He looked into Shuichi's eyes. "If you want me."

Shuichi just stared. "Want you?" He licked his lips. "Have I ever wanted anything else? I love you more than anything in the world."

They might as well have been alone in the room. Shuichi was no longer aware of his sister, his parents or even the room around him. All he could see were Yuki's beautiful hazel eyes. And then Yuki kissed him, right there in front of everyone. Shuichi very nearly came on the spot.

"I think that answers the question," Maiko said calmly.

"But…" Mrs. Shindou began.

"Give up, Mom," Maiko said. "Shuichi belongs with Yuki. We may as well accept it." She clasped Yuki and Shuichi each on the shoulder. "You two better be good to each other. I have a lot invested in this relationship." She grinned at Shuichi. "Now why don't you take Yuki upstairs? Mom and Dad and I need to talk. They already like Yuki, so what does it matter which one of us he's dating? They'll come around."

"Now see here…!" Mr. Shindou began.

"I don't think…" Mrs. Shindou began at the same time. They both began issuing objections in stern voices.

Shuichi looked away from them and bit his lip. "Maiko," he whispered, "you know what will happen if I'm alone with Yuki."

"Try not to make too much noise," she whispered back. She winked at him. "Go on. I was the president of the leadership club. If I can't make a compelling argument in your favor, no one can."

Shuichi didn't wait another second. He caught Yuki by the hand and fled the room. He could hear his parents arguing with Maiko as he pulled Yuki up the stairs and into his bedroom. He locked the door and put his back against it with a giggle. "I don't believe it! She practically told us to go to bed! And right in front of our parents!" He giggled again.

Yuki regarded him steadily. "I am truly sorry for hurting you, Shuichi. I should have told you that I loved you."

A shiver of happiness ran down Shuichi's spine. "Just keep saying it. I'll never get tired of hearing those words from your lips."

Yuki took Shuichi in his arms and kissed him deeply. Shuichi kissed back, his erection throbbing against Yuki's pelvis.

"I have the lubricant," Yuki whispered in his ear.

"Bless you!" Shuichi whispered back. He fumbled at the zipper of his trousers. He couldn't yank them down fast enough. He nearly tripped trying to hop to the bed and take his feet out of the pant legs at the same time. He scrambled onto the bed on his knees while yanking off his shirt and then bent over so Yuki could lubricate him. He gasped as Yuki began working the cream into him.

"I missed you," Yuki said softly. "I missed your cheerfulness and your goofy laugh; I missed the way you turn everything into a song. I missed kissing you; I missed touching you; I missed tasting you; I missed listening to you moan with pleasure when I took you." He squirted more lubricant onto his fingers and continued applying it. "But most of all, I missed hearing your voice when we talked after making love." He bent over and kissed the small of Shuichi's back. Then he caught Shuichi's hips and jammed himself in with a hard thrust of his hips.

Shuichi gasped. Yuki put his arms around him and pulled him upright, holding Shuichi's body against his. He leaned back, spreading Shuichi's legs and driving himself in farther, stabbing up into Shuichi with hard, deep thrusts. Shuichi cried out and Yuki put a hand over his mouth, muffling the cries of joy that Shuichi couldn't hold in. Shuichi came, the orgasm slamming into his body in waves, crashing up and down in him until it crested in a climax that stunned him into silence. Yuki muffled his own cries against Shuichi's shoulder and Shuichi could feel Yuki coming inside him.

They sank down against the bed as the pleasure faded and Shuichi felt tears running down his cheeks.

"I love you, Shuichi," Yuki whispered into his ear.

"Oh Yuki!" Shuichi exclaimed softly. "I am so happy!"

"I'm glad. I never want to make you sad again."

"I'll never be sad as long as you love me."

Yuki rolled Shuichi onto his back and pushed his legs apart. He lay down on top of him and slipped his arms under Shuichi's shoulders.

Shuichi wrapped his arms and legs around Yuki and kissed him deeply. "I like being with you like this."

"Me too." Yuki kissed him on the nose. "Sing something for me."

"I can't sing with you lying on my chest. I can't get any air."

"I want to hear your voice." Yuki shifted down so he could rest his head on Shuichi's chest. "Sing."

"If you insist." Shuichi didn't try to put much force into his voice. After all, the sound only had to carry a few inches to Yuki's ear. He sang a love song, but a happy one, because that was how he felt.

Yuki sighed when he finished. "That was pretty." He kissed the middle of Shuichi's chest. "I didn't keep my promise to your mother for very long."

"What promise?"

"That I wouldn't have sex with you while you were still in high school."

"You promised her that?"

"I figured she would want to hear something like that. I did deflower her little boy, after all."

"I'm glad you didn't keep that promise."

Yuki put his head back down on Shuichi's chest.

"Yuki?"

"What?"

"Why did you come back?"

Yuki lifted his head and smiled at him. "Your best friend, Hiroshi Nakano, came to see me and he made me realize what a fool I was being. You should thank him when you see him."

"What did he say?"

Yuki shook his head. "It's not important. The result is what matters."

Shuichi was silent for a moment.

"Yuki?"

"What?"

"Say it again."

Yuki chuckled. "I love you, Shuichi."

Shuichi sighed happily. "Will you say it to me every day?"

"Yes."

"Will you make love to me again?"

"Yes." Yuki shifted forward and rubbed his erection against Shuichi's bottom. "I was wondering when you were going to ask."

Shuichi kissed him. "Don't hurry, ok? I want to enjoy it."

"That's just what I was planning."

The End

_Now that it's over, I admit that Yuki is somewhat out of character, but I was feeling a little frustrated at the end of the manga that Yuki never said the words, even if he admitted that he wanted to be with Shuichi. So part of my motivation for writing this story was just to make Yuki say "I love you, Shuichi." Ah, the beauty of fan-fiction, where you can re-shape the world to suit yourself and other like-minded people._

_I realize I've also left a lot of unresolved details. Do Shuichi's parents accept his relationship with Yuki? Will Tohma start to interfere? How does Hiro feel about the resumption of their relationship? Does Maiko get involved with someone else? What happens when Yuki leaves for college? Well… if I wrapped up every detail, I wouldn't have material for a sequel, now would I? Of course, that doesn't mean I'll write one, I just like to keep my options open. (I'm such a tease…)_


End file.
